


Lilith Rising

by MahnaMahna



Series: Lilith [3]
Category: Legend (1985)
Genre: F/M, Human/Monster Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-10
Updated: 2020-04-28
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:34:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 25,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23096416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MahnaMahna/pseuds/MahnaMahna
Summary: With her Dark Lord's guidance, Lily develops her power.A gift, a revelation and a summer storm. Through it, a love that binds enernal.
Relationships: Darkness/Lily (Legend)
Series: Lilith [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1546699
Comments: 48
Kudos: 56





	1. A Gift

Lily blinked slowly, her vision bleary but solidifying as the feeling returned to her toes. The stone floor was cool against her cheek and she pressed herself into it slightly, soothing her fevered skin. Breathing harsh, she dimly noted that the lines which crossed and swirled intricately about her were smudged, sigils and runes smeared unintelligibly by handprints and other signs of struggle.

“Bugger,” she mumbled, frustrated.

Amusement colored the rich, deep voice which spoke behind her, “What vexes you, my love?”

Sharp claws ran lightly, playfully over her still-tingling toes, causing her to twitch and sit halfway up, leaning on forearm and hip. Lily groped at her skirt, flipping it down to cover her bare legs and guard her feet. She gestured broadly at the floor around them while she put her arms back through the straps of her gown and righted it haphazardly, pushing herself further upright and slapping at the white patches that covered it. Plumes of chalk dust puffed out as she did so.

“All my hard work, decimated,” she said with annoyance.

He sat looking quite unruffled though very slightly out of breath. His garment replaced as though never disturbed but for a single white smudge on his knee, he watched her fondly as she fussed with her gown and grumbled about her runes. 

“Ah, yes. The predictable consequence of your desire to break from your studies. Did you expect different?”

“I expected us to stay _inside_ of the circle, where the lines are simple and easy to touch up. Or at least I would have, if I’d considered it,” she responded, “I wasn’t exactly thinking. You’re very distracting.”

“So I gather,” he said, unperturbed, slipping a strap down her shoulder with one finger just so that she’d have to pull it up again. Lily fixed the strap and then smacked his hand as he reached to do it again.

“Stop that,” she giggled, scooting away from him and gathering a cloth to wipe away the patterns that she had so meticulously laid down and then they had so recklessly disrupted. She cleared away the symbols that were beyond saving and picked up her chalk to fix the remainder. 

“Perhaps you should begin again. That sigil is lopsided now,” he pointed to the symbol she’d just fixed, if a bit hurriedly. “I can scarcely read it, and you’ve lost focus. If your sigils are illegible and your intent has wandered, what might you expect to accomplish?”

Lily huffed. “Well that’s just grand. I wouldn’t have taken a break if I’d known I’d have to start over.”

One eye squinted at her speculatively. “Truly?” He asked, a smile tugging at his lips. Lily was silent a moment, sullen.

“No.”

“Mmm.”

The cloth dragged streaks through her work as she wiped at the floor listlessly, discouraged. He watched her in silence.

“We've been here for hours already.”

“Indeed.”

“It’s nearly suppertime.” His head inclined towards her, one brow upturned. It was early yet, but he did not mention it.

“I laid my circle correctly and remembered all of my sigils,” she said reasonably, “I’d say that’s an accomplishment, considering the complexity of the spell.”

“It is,” he conceded.

“Wouldn’t you say I’ve done quite a lot today?”

“Lily,” he said, “this is your practice. If you are fatigued, if you would like to adjourn for the time being, that is your decision. True enough, you have accomplished much. Indeed, the spell is complex. I would not expect you to complete it successfully on your first attempt.”

Lily sighed deeply, rubbing her eyes.

“Lady?”

She looked at him wearily, slumping a little. “I’m tired, but it feels like giving up. I don’t wish to disappoint you,” she said quietly.

“And you do not,” he responded lightly, rising to his feet, offering a hand to help her up. “Come. I’ve a gift for you. I’d planned on waiting until tonight, but I think it will cheer you.” One long finger flicked towards his knee and the chalk smudge was no more, dispersed into the air in a plume of dust.

“You make it look so simple,” Lily noted, waving at his now clean clothing.

“It is,” he replied, “once you understand the principles and have trained your will. The mind and spirit are the same as the body in this way. Tasks that were difficult become easy as your strength builds. Once you have strength, once ritual and procedure are second nature, kinetic work is as simple as walking, as reaching out a hand to move an object.”

Lily looked down at herself, slapping at the chalk still on her own garment. “Well it would be wonderful if I had just enough strength to make the dirt on my dress dissapear. Seems such a small thing,” she grumbled.

“Ah,” he said, making a slight pulling gesture in her direction. A small, thin white cloud formed around her as the chalk escaped the fibers of her gown, floating and drifting as he twirled a finger in the air. “But you’re thinking of it wrongly. To make something _dissapear_ , to unmake it, is an element of conjuration. What I am doing is…” he trailed off, swirling the dust in front of her in dancing patterns.

“Manipulation?”

“Yes. You cannot just want the dust _gone_ , you must know where you wish to put it.” His fingers waved outwards and the cloud dispersed, drifting to the floor. “A key difference. Conjuration is significantly more difficult than manipulation, and inverse aspects of a discipline are always more difficult still. If you _had_ been trying to make the dust disappear, you’d be utilizing a very different skill and wasting your effort besides.” He tapped her nose once. “This is why theory is essential, and these are only the most basic components. I keep telling you to study the tome I gave you.” His hand raised to stay her response, “I know that it’s dry…”

“I _have_ been reading it,” she insisted. He raised a brow. “It just puts me to sleep every time I do.” Lily looked up at him, tossing her hands in exasperation. “I’m normally an exceptional student, I swear it.”

His chuckle reverberated through her as she was pulled to his chest, his arms enfolding her tightly. “Truthfully, you are doing better than you feel you are. You have a natural flair for the craft, as I predicted.” Lily looked up at him incredulously. “You do. The tasks you perform are more advanced than you know. You are frustrated, but your progress has been swift. Many are discouraged by the long path to mastery, most humans do not live long enough to achieve it no matter how tirelessly they work.” He placed a finger beneath her chin and squinted at her. “Have you ever met a _young_ witch of any skill?”

“I’m not sure I’ve ever met a witch,” Lily responded, prompting another chuckle from him.

“Then consider that _you_ ,” he said, fluttering his fingers in an elegant, dramatic gesture, “are the most talented witch that you have ever met.” 

“Oh yes, thank you,” Lily laughed, “that helps my self confidence immensely.”

“Worry not. You are also one of the most talented practitioners, born of humanity, that _I_ have seen at this stage of education.”

“Well,” she said, more subdued, “that helps more.”

They quit the room with she on his arm, the heavy door swinging outwards at a slight gesture of his hand. He led them slowly to their chambers, only a short walk from the workroom, and urged her onto a chaise in the sitting area while he retrieved a box from the mantle. The behemoth fireplace cast a pleasant glow, outlining his silhouette starkly. This warmed the room considerably as well, though Lily wondered as she gazed at him whether the heat she felt was due to the height of the flames or the shape of him in the flickering light.

He sat next to her, a box of intricately carved ebony in outstretched hand. Lily took it from him, opening it with an appreciative gasp, for inside was a thing of exquisite beauty. A black stone winked up at her, the wide surface of its table facet polished to mirror finish. Glittering diamonds dripped around it, sharp and clear as ice. She lifted the piece gingerly from its housing in wonder. It would be huge on her hand. In fact, as she examined it, she realized that it had two bands under the setting, meant to be worn on two fingers.

“The blackest of obsidian, highly prized as a seeing stone. Wear it always, use it to exercise your perception. It will help you speed your progress, and is a useful tool in any case.” He held up his own right hand then, showing her a similar stone on one of his fingers which she had noticed earlier that morning. He often wore jewelry, many times explaining to her the usefulness of the stones and metals and patterns inlaid. No secret was made, however, of his enjoyment of their splendor.

“You’ve never given me a _ring_ before,” she said, raising a brow at him.

“Is my queen dissatisfied with the trove of jewels which I have rained upon her since her arrival?” He pointed towards her dressing table, as large as every other piece of furniture in the room. It overflowed with gems of every color, scattered with trinkets and baubles beyond price. “Do you find me negligent?”

“No, it’s only that you’ve never given me a _ring_ before, _husband_ ,” she emphasized playfully. 

He hummed thoughtfully, pulling the ring from her hand. “Then wear this, Lily, not only as a gift, but as a token of the promises that we have made to one another.” The jewels were heavy as he slipped them over the knuckles of her left ring and pinky fingers. 

“And you?” she asked, looking at the black stone that he wore.

“Would it please you?”

“Yes.”

“And me,” he said quietly, slipping the ring from his right to his left hand.

Lily sighed happily, tucking herself into the crook of his arm as she gazed at the ring. She focused a moment and felt her vision blur around the edges while she stared at the reflective surface of the stone. Suddenly she gasped, a hand to her chest.

“What is it?”

“Nell,” she said, looking up at him with delight in her eyes, “She’s having another child, I saw her belly! This will be their _fourth_!” she exclaimed. “Oh, I wish I could see her when the baby is born. I haven’t held a new baby in ages.”

“You miss your companions,” he observed mildly, though the bunch and release of the muscles beneath her spoke of a tension that he very carefully kept from his expression. 

Lily looked up, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling herself to his lap to straddle him. She brought her face close, pressing their chests together and locking her gaze to his as she breathed against his lips. She kissed him once, softly, pressing her cheek briefly against his before looking back into his strange eyes. “I will not leave you, beloved.” 

Once she would not have thought him capable of anxiety, but if she had not already known better the look of stark relief that he could not keep from his eyes would have convinced her. She placed soft, feathery kisses across his brow and temples then, lingering at the corners of his eyes and running her nose along his sharp orbital bones. His eyes closed and his breathing became slightly labored as he basked in her attentions, gripping her waist as she moved down his jaw to nibble at the cords in his neck which strained under her teeth.

“I was content in solitude before I knew you,” he breathed. “For eons, I was content.” His hands tightened, holding her firmly as he curled up into her, as his hips settled more snugly into the cradle of her own.

“And now?” she asked, running her tongue along his lower lip. He growled low in his throat and shook his head slightly, taking full possession of her mouth. 

Lily moaned at the touch of his tongue to hers, clutching his neck desperately. She clung to him, her knees squeezing his midsection as she pressed down, looking for friction. His hands moved down to grasp her hips, adding pressure as he started rocking against her. 

Heavens, but she could never seem to get _enough_ of him! He’d taken her on the floor of the workroom not an hour before and yet here she was, feeling starved for his touch. Lily groped blindly at the fastenings of his cape, poking against her chest. The cloth hung over one of his rounded shoulders and crossed his front, bejeweled clasp resting over one highly delineated pectoral muscle. She undid the clasp, letting the cape fall. Without removing her mouth from his, she slipped the straps of her gown over her arms in order to press her bare flesh against his. They shared a gasp at the sensation, lips parting enough to allow for air but not breaking contact completely. She rubbed her bottom lip against his, nipping at it as their breath mingled, heating them both.

He broke from her suddenly to finish removing her gown, dragging it by the skirt over her head. When she was bare to his eyes he groaned, running one hand over her belly, grasping at her breasts. Her nipples were tightened to hard buds already in her arousal and his fingers teased them further, making her squirm. One of his hands dipped down to slide between them, running his fingertips through the folds of her most sensitive flesh. Lily whimpered, grabbing his wrist with one hand and the back of his neck with the other. Her forehead pressed to his as her eyes squeezed shut and she rocked her hips against his hand.

“Please,” she whispered, and he removed his hand from her. A frustrated groan followed his retreat as he lifted her to push the rest of his clothing down his hips but was replaced by a sharp cry when he quickly seated her again on his lap, entering her in one swift movement. Immediately he started thrusting into her deeply, holding her hips up to give himself room. 

“ _Oh_ ,” Lily moaned, allowing herself to go limp. He would hold her, support her weight carefully as he ravaged her, like always. She let herself drift into sensation, trusting that he would care for her, keep her safe as she let go.

She rested on his shoulder, her arms about him and crossed behind his head, lightly gripping the base of each horn. The force of his movement jarred her, pushed their hearts together with every stroke, warming her breast. She bit her lip as her pleasure built, nuzzling into the crook of his neck, but at the feel of his skin on her lips her mouth opened and her teeth found him instead. She bit down hard and held a tendon, drawing a long groan from him. His speed increased as she clamped her teeth down harder still, enjoying the feel of his firm flesh in her mouth. It felt good to bite down on him, to run her tongue across the skin she held and suck and worry at his heat while he plunged into her harder, faster the more savagely she clung to him.

Lily twitched suddenly, overtaken by ecstasy at a particularly forceful thrust. Her teeth let go of his neck as she cried out and he kept his pace until her convulsions were through. With a growl he lifted her then, still inside of her as she wrapped her legs about his hips. He stepped carefully out of the garment which pooled at his feet, carrying her towards their bed.

He laid her down softly, following as her grip on his shoulders forced him to do. She wrapped herself around him tightly, not willing to let him move even an inch away from her. His lips found hers as he started moving again within her, now slowly and carefully instead of the frenzied pace of moments ago. Lily was sensitized beyond belief, tremors still running through her body as she laid open to him, letting him do what he would, just so long as he did not let her go.

They passed the afternoon this way, though it could have been days, weeks for all Lily knew or cared. He took her slowly for hours, bringing them both to shattering peaks time and again until she was shaking, sweating, disoriented. The wet sounds of their bodies coming together became more pronounced as their shared fluids built, spreading slickly over their thighs and mingling with perspiration. Slippery with sweat, their chests slid against each other, nipples dragging, bumping occasionally, drawing soft sighs of appreciation from them both.

With one last spectacular burst of pleasure they settled, breathing hard against each other, exhausted. His head had come to rest with his chin tucked over her neck, his great horns tilted at just the angle to lay one above them on the bed, the other rising above and out of the way. He laid across her slightly to the side, his lower body still connected to hers. One hand gripped a breast, raising and lowering with each panting breath she took.

“I believe that _now_ it is nearly suppertime,” he said tiredly, his eyes closed. “Past.”

“Yes,” Lily said, “I’m hungry, I think. Give me a moment.”

“As am I, but I don’t wish to move,” he said, pressing his hips tight to hers to keep himself inside. 

“Don't,” she whispered, pushing her pelvis upwards to meet his. They rested that way some time, until Lily's stomach protested loudly.

He looked at her, a crooked smile on his lips. “I must feed my lady now, it seems.”

“Can’t you bring it here?” She pleaded, locking her ankles behind his lower back.

He thought a moment, then nodded against her shoulder where his head still lazed. He drew back the cover next to them to make space and waved a hand, a tray laden with food and drink appearing beside them.

“And what feat did I just perform?” he asked, spearing a dark grape on one claw and holding it to her lips.

Lily lowered her mouth over his finger, sucking gently at his knuckle as he slid it back out. “Conjuration?” she ventured.

“This tray came from the kitchen.”

“Teleportation.” 

“Good,” he said, spearing another grape. He offered it to her, pulling away when she opened her mouth to take it. She chased the fruit as he teased her, finally placing it between his own lips and letting her retrieve it from him with a kiss.

He continued to feed her, still lying in her embrace. Picking up a utensil, he started passing her bites of something warm, savory and delicious that she did not have the presence of mind to identify, fixated as she was on his face as he watched her. When he offered her wine they sat up, though the feeling of loss as he finally slipped from her body felt profound. 

“We're sticky,” Lily commented contentedly, sipping wine as she watched him address his own appetite. 

He chuckled, swiping a finger down her cheek tenderly. “A bath before we retire, then? And new linens,” he added, looking pointedly at the damp sheets.

They finished their meal leisurely as he spoke to her of the theoretical and pragmatic aspects of magic. Lily loved these conversations with him. The subject was infinitely more engaging when he spoke on it than when she read on her own. She thought about that a moment. Perhaps the eloquent, poetic cadence of his speech and the deep tones of his voice had more to do with her trouble with that blasted book than the book itself did. They laughed together at some inconsequential thing, and the sound of his amusement vibrated through her body and made her shiver.

 _Oh yes_ , she thought, _it’s him_ , and vowed to herself not to feel too badly about falling asleep when she studied.

When they’d finished, he stood and offered his hand to her. Lily slid from the bed, her wine glass still in one hand as she took his with the other. They left the tray and he led her from the room into the attached bathing chamber, she draining the glass and leaving it on a side table along the way. 

This room too was vast, polished black stonework laid in ornate motifs. The bathing area was massive, more a small pool than a tub. They stepped into it together, sitting on a bench laid into the side. He leaned back, elbows resting on the ledge behind him, water rising to his chest. As Lily came to sit next to him, his hand reached to run claws lightly through her hair. The water bobbed at her chin for a minute and she enjoyed the weightless heat before dipping down to submerge herself completely. As she came back up, she got to her knees and then sat in his lap, raising her in the water so that it came only to her shoulders. One arm came around her middle as the other returned to her now saturated hair.

“Will you wash it tonight?” he asked, twirling one wet curl around his finger. 

“No, I don’t think so,” she responded, though she ducked back down and scrubbed her scalp in the water a moment. 

She leaned back against him, her head relaxed on his broad chest. Lily closed her eyes, allowing the heat and the comfort of his skin to slacken her muscles. That is, until he began to caress her under the water, pinching sharply at her nipples. Lily yelped, suddenly tense, her core clenching immediately, her body's response to him instant.

“Why would you do that after the day we’ve had?” She asked breathlessly, “Do you want me to be able to walk tomorrow?”

“I’m ambivalent,” he answered, leaning down to nip at her shoulder while he gave her nipples another sharp pinch, pulling at them as he did. Lily gasped, arching into his hands. 

“You’ll be the death of me,” she laughed, even as she reached one hand behind his head, the other behind her back to grasp his hardening sex. She turned her face up to kiss him, moaning when one of his hands reached to stroke between her thighs. He parted her knees and placed them outside of his own, spreading her open to his touch.

“But you bring me such life, my love, and what is life without its pleasures?”

Lily could see his point as he lifted her, rubbing his shaft against her throbbing nub before probing her entrance. 

He held her there, arms around her ribs, nuzzling her neck and cheek from behind. Lily squirmed as he pinned her to his chest, the tip of him just inside of her, tormenting her as she struggled to take more of him. 

“You bring me something not meant for the damned,” he said in her ear, his hot breath making her shiver.

“What’s that?” she asked, turning her face restlessly towards him, seeking his lips again.

“Joy,” he replied, finally sinking her hips onto his, filling her and making her feel whole. They moaned at once as her core clenched around him and they pressed together tightly, savoring the sensation of oneness. She kissed him desperately as he gripped the junctures between her hips and thighs, holding her down as he ground up into her, creating friction without separation. 

His hand moved to stroke once more at the center of her pleasure, sending sparks through her and making her lightheaded. They climaxed together quickly, panting, melting back into the water as soon as it was done. 

She turned to face him, leaning heavily on his chest as he kept his arms around her waist. When they had recovered somewhat, Lily reached past him for a cloth and a bar of soap.

“Perhaps we should _wash_ ,” she said, laughter in her eyes.

“Is that what we’re here for?” he replied lightly, one corner of his lips upturned.

Lily lathered the cloth, setting aside the soap. She applied it to his collar bone, rubbing small, sudsy circles across his torso. He closed his eyes and sighed contentedly, lifting his elbows back to the ledge, his hands resting by his ears as they and his head laid back on the stone wall behind him. Rivulets of water dripped down his glistening red skin and Lily watched, mesmerized. She chased them with the cloth to prevent herself from chasing them with her tongue, enjoying the feel of his solid muscle beneath the slippery fabric. 

She bathed him slowly, taking pleasure in the sight and feel of his body, running her hands over his soap-slicked skin more than once. When she was through he returned the favor, allowing her to go lax against him as the cloth soothed over her overworked limbs. They soaked a while longer before emerging, feeling sated, clean and ready for bed.

When they returned the tray was gone and the linens replaced. They slid into the bed, he on his back and she draped across his chest. Lily looked at her hand on him, admiring the ring again. It was even more beautiful now, with the stark contrast of her milky white skin and the deep ruby of his as its backdrop.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“Hmm?” he asked coherently, eyes closed, already half asleep.

“For the ring. I didn’t tell you that I love it, but I love it. Thank you.” 

He made an approving noise and tightened his arms about her.

“I love _you_ ,” she said, still more quietly. His eyes did open at that, blearily. He turned them a bit to their sides, pulling her up higher, squeezing her to his torso as he did. His hand pressed to the back of her head, his lips on her forehead. He held her there tightly, breathing her in as she curled into his embrace. She felt so small in his arms, but so well cared for, so secure. After a long moment he moved to tuck her head under his chin and she took a deep breath, letting herself drift. They slept soundly, limbs tangled in a lover’s knot in the quiet of the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story will contain multiple chapters, but I can't begin to guess its length. I know the story I'm telling (as well as the sequel, in fact), but never know how wordy I'll be or how much of my sweet time I'll take to get to it.


	2. A Life

Lily leaned forward on her elbows, studying the figure sitting just across the heavy wooden table. He was motionless, hands wrapped around the large crystal globe in front of him, eyes closed. She'd been watching him perhaps an hour, perhaps less. 

They’d been here all day, both of them at their individual tasks. She had completed her spell _twice_ , finished out the ritual completely, to no effect. It didn’t surprise her much, but the frustration of it was itching under her skin even still. He had come in with her very early, given her leave to interrupt him if she required counsel, and sat in the precise spot he still occupied. Twice he had looked up, asked if she was hungry and provided her a tray with a wave before returning to his meditation, not partaking himself. 

He did this occasionally. She had even witnessed him sitting for days on end more than once, or at least it had felt like days. Sometimes, without the rise and fall of the sun to guide her, Lily felt her sense of time float away softly in the firelight. More and more as her comfort in her new life grew, she felt as if she lived one single dreamlike moment with a surreal sort of clarity. She noted the time, sporadically, but increasingly did not bother. Her mate did not keep regular hours, sleeping and eating when his flesh demanded, though these days mostly matching her own habits.

She knew what he was doing, vaguely. The last time Lily had asked he had said he was _pulling at the shadows_ , and explained in brief how he fed the dark energies that ran through the world, how he watched over the battle lines and the borders of his power, how he gave the dusk its strength to descend. 

His eyes opened suddenly, startling her.

“Do you require something, my beauty?” he asked, removing his hands from the crystal and propping his chin up on one of them, elbow resting on the tabletop.

“No,” she said, though she could tell by the squint in his eye that he did not quite believe her.

“But you have a question,” he stated, though it was a guess.

“I don't wish to disturb you, it can wait.”

He shook his head, blinking at her slowly. “I am finished at present. Come,” he said, standing and offering her his elbow. She had to reach up to take it, but not uncomfortably. “Let us move to the dining hall. Ask me your questions as we walk.”

They strolled through the wide, dim passageway quietly until she gathered her thoughts. “How far does your perception go, truly?” she asked finally.

“As far as the shadows do, as far as the night touches,” he told her, guiding her through the portal which led to their destination.

“Everything?” she asked again, amazed.

“Everything,” he confirmed. He sat her to his right as he took the head of the long table, continuing his explanation. “I am the darkness in all things. The shadows are my spirit body.”

“What do you mean?”

He leaned back in his chair, settling his hands over his abdomen. “The spirit body, the ethereal, subtle self. Do you not read _anything_ that I give to you?” He said with good humor, though he cocked his head with a stern expression to surround his laughing eyes. She shrugged guiltily. “The ethereal body lingers around the physical body, usually. You can separate them, travel without your material self, with practice. I do not need to do this. I must focus my attention for many tasks, and I am usually not _looking_ everywhere at once, but I am present in all places darkness touches. So it has been since the world was birthed. This flesh anchors me, allows me to affect physical change, but it is limited. The shadows are only restricted by the light in where they can go. I see all that they see, though they can only move what is around them insomuch as any spirit can.”

“I forget sometimes,” Lily said in awe, “how much more than human you are, though I know what you are to the world.” She watched as a slow smile crept across his face. He reached to begin filling his plate from the spread in front of them, looking at her all the while. “Will you teach me to travel without my material self?”

“Yes,” he replied, nodding. “Spirit travel is a more advanced skill and may be relatively long to develop, but I think that you would take to it well. Your Sight is strong, which will make it much easier.”

Lily sighed, drumming her fingers on the table. “I need to work on something new for a while. Something difficult like the storm, but different. Smaller.”

“You’ve been frustrated.”

“ _Very_.”

“You’ve studied how the hot and cold air needs to interact to create winds, pressure, condensation? You are focused on the energy of the heat as you mark your sigils and recite your incantations?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Hmm,” he tapped one finger against his chin, gazing into the middle distance for a moment. “Perhaps you’re right. We'll find you a new task to work on, to help you regain focus.”

Lily nodded, finally reaching for supper herself. “What is that?” she asked suspiciously, pointing to an oddly shaped roast, something resembling a leg.

He shrugged, glancing at the dish she’d indicated. “Meat.”

“It looks oddly… human,” she remarked, the disgust on her face difficult to hide.

“Meat is meat,” he said, unconcerned. “What care I where it comes from? It is dead.” So saying, he reached for a portion of it.

“Isn’t that cannibalism?” she asked, slightly alarmed.

“I suppose it would be, were I human. As you recently observed, I am not.” 

“Yes… well,” Lily said, reaching for a slice of bread. A beat of silence passed as they ate.

“It is probably _not_ human,” he observed, taking another bite, chewing thoughtfully. Lily decided not to ask how he'd come to that conclusion. She pulled a dusky fig from a nearby plate.

A flapping sound echoed through the hall suddenly, making Lily jump. The fruit she held dropped to the floor and rolled away as she looked around the room for the source of the noise. It continued, accompanied by a harsh cawing that bounced from the stone walls.

A flurry of movement nearby resolved itself into a small bird, black and iridescent blue with streaks of white smoothing into it’s small form as it perched on the dipping arm of a candelabra. 

“Oh!” Lily exclaimed, delighted. “A magpie! How did you get down here, little one?” she asked softly, rising ever so slowly from her seat.

“Corvids often find their way below. They are attracted to dark places, and to the gems that shine from them. Ravens, crows, magpies, jays. Night birds too, like owls.” Lily was out of her chair now, creeping slowly towards the bird with a hand extended. “They are creatures who appreciate beauty and seek it wherever it lies.” When Lily put her hand out towards the bird and whistled softly, it fluttered towards her and settled on her bare arm. “Small wonder it likes you,” he commented, admiring her form as she cradled the delicate animal.

“I don’t speak magpie, but I know a bit of finch,” she said quietly. “I think she understood me.”

“What did you say to it?” he asked, his eyes on her intense.

“I only asked her to come say hello,” Lily breathed. The bird looked up at her, tilting its little head to catch her eye. They stared at each other a long moment as Lily held her breath, mesmerized. She blinked and the spell was broken, a light breeze from the bird’s wings stirring Lily's hair as it flew away, up to the cavernous ceiling until she could no longer see it, though she heard the echo of its wings a minute more.

Lily thought of Jack, wondering if he thought she was dead. She decided that it didn’t matter.

“Sit,” he implored, “finish eating. The bird may return later, if it does not wander out.”

She did sit, turning her attention back to her companion. They finished their meal without further interruption save for the occasional sound of wings in the distance, and once the barely-caught yelp of what he assured her was a goblin. She came across them sometimes scurrying through halls, much to her displeasure. 

Much later, as they prepared for bed, Lily at her dressing table and he wandering the room set to various small tasks, she sat gazing into the surface of her ring. Startled, she stared at what she found, her face falling as she watched on.

“Dearest,” she said, distracted, “will you come to me a moment?”

He crossed the room towards her, one hand resting on her shoulder, brushing aside her hair to reveal the side of her neck. “Yes, Lady?” Long fingers stroked down the exposed skin, making her shiver. She clasped her right hand over his, stilling its movement.

“Nell is crying,” she started, still looking at the ring. “You said that you see all that your shadows see. Do you know why she grieves?”

He looked at her, considering, and then closed his eyes briefly, looking inward. “She grieves heavily, and is full of anger. I believe her husband has died,” he said.

“Oh _no_ ,” Lily groaned, “Poor Nell. With a baby on the way and everything. I hope her sister comes from town to help her. She looks ready to burst.” She sighed deeply and covered her face with her hands, scrubbing at her eyes. “It's been a long day. Suddenly I’m exhausted.”

“Then let us to bed. Let me sooth you, and then we shall rest.”

“Sooth me, you say?” she questioned, looking at him with a raised brow and a slight smile tugging at her full lips, though her eyes were weary.

“Come,” he said simply, offering his hand for the last time that evening. She took it without hesitation, allowing him to guide her to the bed. 

Little else was spoken between them that night.

* * *

Several days passed before Lily saw the magpie again. She was rifling through the library one evening when it fluttered down and landed directly onto her shoulder as she watched, stunned. It poked at the jewels that hung from her ear as she whistled a greeting. The magpie squawked back and Lily laughed in a rush of giddy excitement. 

“Hello again,” she whispered, cautiously placing a small kiss to the delicate black head. Lily held her breath as the bird let her touch the tip of her nose to its beak. The moment stretched out, peaceful and still, until the little body jerked violently away from her with a truncated squawk.   
  
Lily let out a startled yelp as it happened, watching the magpie fall to the floor. A stone tumbled nearby, clattering against a bookshelf as she heard goblin laughter behind her. She bent immediately to scoop up the crumpled little thing, tears springing to her eyes as it twitched in her palms.

“No, no, no, no…” she whispered sadly, bringing the bird to her chest. As she held it gently, her vision turned furiously on the perpetrators. “How _dare_ you!” she hissed, her tears clouding her vision as they cackled on.

“Hunting's done, conquered and won! Birdie's dead, shot in the head!” one of the goblins cried, swinging a slingshot in the air. His companion nodded enthusiastically.

“Goblins tracked and watched and crept, found where little birdie slept!” he flicked his long, crooked nose as he pointed up to the high rafters in the room.

“ _Quiet_ , both of you!” she sobbed.

“Ugly girlie cry and fuss, tries to keep our prize from us!” 

Lily gasped as they charged her, throwing out an arm. The two goblins jerked and fell as though being pushed, shrieking as they tumbled. She looked at her hand, dumbfounded.

“Did I do that?” she mumbled to herself.

“Nay,” a deep, familiar voice said behind her as the goblins were lifted into the air, still struggling and shouting. Lily turned as her lord finished stepping into the room, emerging from the very air. His outstretched fist clenched tighter as the goblins abruptly ceased their protests, suddenly choking. “What is this I find? I heard you weeping, it pulled me from my rituals.”

“The magpie,” Lily said, holding out the bird to his view. He watched as she grasped it tenderly, like an infant, observed the tears on her face. “They killed it.” She looked up at him, sobbing anew.

“Did they, now?” he asked, bending to kiss a tear from her cheek. His tongue swept out to taste the brine of her sorrow, calming her breath somewhat.

He straightened, looking to his minions. They still hung gasping, though struggling less as the seconds passed. “Skib, is it? Scab?” he said to the goblin in front of him. The goblin shook his head but was ignored. “I do not know you,” he told the other. “You distress my Lady. What have you to say for yourselves?” His fist loosened a fraction, allowing them air for a moment as they flailed. 

“Harmless fun,” grunted one goblin, unable to continue.

“Hunted… killed it, knocked it… fine, from shoulder of Lord’s concu…bine!” wheezed the other. 

The growl that ripped from him was fearsome as his fist tightened again, coming up as he dragged them near his face to observe them closely. “ _Concubine_?” he spat, lip curled and breath quickly becoming heavy. “She is your _queen_.” 

He gestured, keeping one goblin where he was while he wrapped his free hand around the other's throat, flexing his fingers as he gripped the slimy creature. His other hand came to join it shortly, squeezing slowly. Lily saw the goblin's eyes bulge, heard his guttural struggle for air. She laid a hand on his arm for a moment, unsure.

His eyes turned to hers, keeping her gaze as he spoke. “Normally I encourage chaos, but I cannot suffer such insolence. I will not abide insults to my queen. I regret if you do not enjoy bearing witness, but I _will_ kill him.” Lily looked at the body she still held, at the blood smeared across her breast. She removed her hand from his arm.

His eyes turned back to the goblin who had begun to struggle earnestly but ineffectually at his master's words and the look in them was cold as the deadest winter night as he pressed his thumbs inward. He applied pressure steadily until Lily heard a sickening wet sound and a series of small crunching noises, all to the goblin's restless, breathless noises of panic. 

Once he had thrown the slack, mangled creature to the floor, he glanced to the other. A quick gesture was all he needed to break his neck and dispatch him, letting the second body drop carelessly.

“Why did you kill the first one with your hands?” Lily asked, a bit dazed.

“I wanted to feel it,” he told her without shame. He stared hard at her, then at the bird she still clutched. His bloody hands came up to grasp her shoulders lightly as he leaned down, his eyes boring into hers as though searching for something behind them.

“A task, Lily. A new task, small but difficult, to help you regain focus.”

“What?” she asked, remembering their conversation but not following him.

He placed his hand under hers, lifting the body of the magpie. “You can give it life again, but it will not be easy. It will not be pleasant,” he warned seriously. “It may, however, teach you to channel your rage and your grief into power.”

“Yes…” Lily said softly, stroking a still wing.

“It will be very challenging, indeed. You must take life to give it.” At that she looked up at him, stricken. “You do not have to, but you must commit either way. It is your decision.”

“Yes,” she said again, more strongly this time. “I'll do it.”

He moaned, his head dipping to run his nose along her jawline, inhaling her scent deeply as his hands gripped at her arms. “Come along then, follow me to the workroom,” he ground out, turning to the door. He walked with a hand on her back, letting her cradle the bird carefully.

When they reached the workbench he left her, gathering objects from surfaces around the room. He spoke as he went, telling her what he collected and when she was to use it. “Normally I would ask you to gather the tools yourself, to discern when in the ritual it is appropriate to use them, but today we must be swift. Hold tight to the turbulence inside as you work, do not let it go.” He pulled a book from a high shelf, tossing it in her direction. Lily watched as it floated to the tabletop, opening as it settled itself. “Set the bird on the table and cast a circle, as it says in the book. Do you know your runes well enough to interperate the passage?”

Lily looked at the page, blinking to clear her vision. “Yes,” she said, setting the bird on the table to her side, pulling the book towards herself. She did as he asked while he finished, coming to the opposite side of the table and laying out her supplies. As she prepared her space and tools he guided her pronunciation of the incantation, short but which he insisted she must speak with every spark of passion she possessed.

Lily began her ritual, lighting candles and taking time to find focus. At a crucial moment which he had prepared her for as well as could be expected, a gesture of his led to a jumpy mass of fur dropping to the table from the ether.

“Where did it come from?” asked Lily quietly, swallowing hard.

“The forest. Does it matter?” he gripped the small rabbit gently, holding it in his huge, brutish hands with care.

“No,” she responded quietly as he handed it to her. Lily listened, watched carefully as he pointed to just where to cut its throat, told her how to hold it to collect the blood properly.

She sat, dagger poised, tears suddenly streaming down her face as she looked at the small creature. “I… I don't know if I can,” she said, her breath hitching.

“Does it hurt you?” He asked fiercely, his eyes wide and intent on her, leaning forward across the table, studying her closely.

“ _Yes_ ,” she sobbed, holding the small, wriggling creature by its scruff. She stood gasping, the blade in her hand shaking as she trembled.

“ _Good_ ,” he hissed at her, gripping the table edge tight as he leaned in further, his horns coming to frame her. It was a comfort, somehow, to be surrounded by him in this moment. “ _Let it_. Lean into the pain, let it overcome you. _Use it_ ,” he said urgently, “direct it!”

Lily moaned, overwhelmed and dizzy.

“ _Do it_!”

And so she did. 

Lily's blade came down swiftly, exactly where he’d told her. She held the rabbit in its death throes, keeping it still enough to direct most of its blood into the vessel in front of them. Once the animal was still her eyes closed and she stood, shaking, sobbing quietly, letting the warm liquid dribble into her work bowl.  
  
“Lily,” he said after a time, his large hands grasping her wrists gently. “It is done. Your task is almost complete.”

She nodded, breathing deeply to regain control of her tears. She opened her eyes and glanced down, noticing that they had mingled with the blood in the silver dish as she stood over it weeping. She laid the rabbit down and reached for the small body of the magpie. Dipping it into the blood, she began whispering the incantation he’d taught her, pouring every bit of sorrow and rage she felt at her task into each syllable. She reached for a bottle of anointing oil, massaging this and the blood into the bird's feathers. The warmth of the blood was repulsive and she let her revulsion run through her, pushing it into her words with the rest of it.

“Good,” he said, “ _Good_. Keep going, don’t stop.”

Lily continued repeating her incantation, continued massaging the limp little body until she thought she felt the faintest of patters under its breast. Startled, she stumbled over the words for a moment, regaining her cadence quickly. The twitch of a sharp foot caught her eye, then a full-body jerk which could not be denied. She looked up for confirmation, still reciting, before she dared cease.

“Success,” he said softly to her, at which she quieted. “Now you must close your circle and then bathe it so that it can fly once more.”

She closed the ritual as he bade, wrapping the magpie in a soft cloth to await its bath. She cleared her workspace, finding a basin of a reasonable size for her task.

“Will you bring warm water and soap for me?” she asked him, her manner subdued. He granted her request, watching as she tenderly unwrapped and bathed the bird. It began moving more as she went, until a third change of water was made and it began standing in the basin, rinsing itself and flapping its wings, sending water droplets through the air. Lily laughed finally at this sight, her tears returning as she did.

“That was _awful_ ,” she said at last, sniffing, watching the bird pull itself onto the ledge of the dish.

“I warned you that it would be,” he returned. 

“You did.” Lily responded quietly. “Can we bring her to our room tonight, set the bowl out, let her bathe herself and dry out in safety?”

“If you wish.”

They did so, setting the basin on a table near the sitting area. He stroked her hair as she leaned against him on the divan, watching the magpie preen. It flapped its wings periodically, unable to lift off with soaked feathers. 

He coaxed her to bed finally, noticing her eyelids drooping. He could see plainly how drained she was, the exhaustion left in the wake of the emotional evening, of her exercising underdeveloped skills. 

When they woke, the magpie was gone.


	3. A Decision

Lily sat, sipping wine, lost in thought. She stared at her untouched plate blankly and startled when her dining companion spoke.

“I have only once seen you so little interested in food, and I do not much enjoy the memory. What occupies you, Lady?”

She sighed, staring into her wineglass. “Is this breakfast?” 

He considered the question briefly, tapping his chin. “We slept, and now we break fast. So yes,” he responded, leaning towards her, expectant that she would continue.

“But what o'clock is it?” 

He leaned back again, shrugging one broad shoulder indifferently. “Mid afternoon, thereabouts.”

“So should I then feel badly for drinking at breakfast, or not because it is already past midday?”

“You should not feel badly for imbibing at any time. Indulgence is a virtue,” he told her matter-of-factly.

“I suppose so,” she said softly, swirling the dark liquor around in her cup.

“We may take our pleasures where we will. To exist is to suffer, why should any of us deny ourselves reprieve in sensual enjoyment? You cling too staunchly to human morals. Obey your desires and concern yourself not with the judgements of a world in which you no longer live.”

Lily glanced up at him finally, considering. After a moment, she tipped her glass in acquiescence of his point and sipped again. 

“Besides,” he continued, “I rather like you a bit into your drink. You grow quite bold with me, all flushed and hungry.”

Lily laughed at that, rolling her eyes as she drank deeply, finishing her wine with a flourish and proffering an empty vessel which he hastened to refill. She sipped again, yet her smile faltered and she sighed, eyes dropping back down.

“The wine is not what concerns you.”

“Not really,” she responded, “Or a bit, maybe. I don’t know.” 

“It displeases me to see you so ill at ease. Come,” he said, waving her towards him. Lily left her glass and stood, creeping into his lap, knees to either side of him. His hands gripped her thighs firmly, sliding up over her hips to her waist, grasping her as he lowered his head, skimming his lips up the curve of her throat while her arms settled loosely about his neck.

Lily breathed deeply, allowing herself to surrender to his hold as one hand pressed between her shoulder blades and the other gripped the base of her skull. His lips continued upwards, along her jaw and over her chin to end their journey pressed tightly against hers. He kissed her leisurely, sensuously, his tongue curling around hers, swallowing her quiet moan. 

When he was through he lingered at her lips, breathing lightly against her as his hands shifted back to her waist carefully, allowing her time to steady herself. 

“Speak to me now,” he said softly.

She turned her face, resting her cheek against his for a moment in thought before pulling back to ask, “Do you know where the magpie is? I don’t know how long its been since I’ve seen her, and I can’t find her when I scry.”

“Somewhere in the daylight,” he said after a short time. “I cannot see it. Out, away from here. Does this sadden you? Did you wish to keep it?” he asked, seeing that she was suddenly tearful.

“No, I _wanted_ her to get out. It’s only that I can’t _see_ her. I don’t know where she is, or if she’s alright, and… and…” He quieted her with another kiss, this one as deep and searching as the last but slowing, calming her, lingering until her breathing evened.

“Fret not, you are connected to it in a different way now. I will show you how you find the bird,” he said at last, pulling a scant inch away. Lily sighed in relief and yet did not seem satisfied. “What else?” he asked, watching her closely. “Are you sorry for my disposal of the goblins?”

“No,” she said, her nose scrunching. “Perhaps only that it wasn’t Blix.”

He huffed a laugh at her admission, pleased and amused. “Do you wish me to kill Blix?”

“You would do it just because I asked?”

“Of course,” he said easily, as though it should have been obvious to her. Lily thought that perhaps it should have.

“I thought you _liked_ Blix.”

“He has been useful to me,” he said, unconcerned. “He is less useful to me than he once was, insubordinate little cretin. It wouldn’t matter in any case. If my lady wants blood, I shall serve it to her with great relish.”

Lily nodded, kissing him lightly. “Thank you,” she said earnestly, “but you do not need to kill Blix for me.”

“If you’re certain. Change your mind at will.”

There was quiet a moment between them as Lily rested her forehead against his cheek. “Nell had her baby,” she said finally, “but she never stops weeping.”

He sighed, his hands rubbing soothing circles into her thighs. “Such is the way of grief. It passes when it will.”

“Yes, but… I can’t… I can’t bear seeing her so… I just…” Lily’s breath hitched while she spoke, her tears emerging again. Another calming kiss was placed against her lips, gently, lingering while she took a shuddering breath through her nose and stilled herself once more. 

“She was like a mother to me,” she said quietly, shakily when they parted. “I was so lonely after my own mother died, so angry. I’d just started sneaking out to the forest, and I was lost. She heard me crying in the brush and found me. Her cottage isn’t far from town, I wasn’t _very_ lost, but I was so scared. I was just a girl. She brought me inside, fed me, made me feel safe again.”

Lily breathed deeply, gathering courage for her next statement. “I want to go see her.”

The change that swept over him at her words was immediate, like a stiff, cold breeze stealing down his body to still all movement. His hands, which had still been kneading her thighs, stopped abruptly, his touch turning feather-light before vanishing altogether as they moved to grip the arms of his chair instead. The wood groaned under his fingers as they tightened.

“Nay,” he said lowly. “I forbid it.” His eyes burned into her, the quiet of his voice resonating with finality.

“You _forbid_ it?” Lily asked combatively. Her eyes, still damp, narrowed at him. “My lord you may be, but my master you are _not_.”

A growl started in his throat, increasing in volume as his lip curled and his breathing gradually became labored. Lily watched him grow more agitated by the second, staring at her. “You have sworn oaths to me,” he ground out. 

“I have,” she responded, placing one hand against his cheek. “Oaths that I do not intend to break.”

“ _Never to be forsaken_ ,” he hissed at her, the chair creaking once more as his fingers flexed their grip. Lily took his face with both hands, bringing herself close even as his gaze smoldered upon her, kissed his cheeks and brow even as he bore his teeth and his chest heaved.

“You will not be,” she said softly, meeting his eye. “I intend to return.” She kissed his still snarling lip, sucking it between hers, biting it gently. He growled again, lower, leaning into her, the undercurrent of arousal now present sending a shiver through her. 

“ _You are mine_ ,” he told her, speaking fiercely against her lips. “You have promised yourself to me for _eternity_.”

“ _Yes_ ,” she murmured, breathless.

“Your place is by my side, _always_ ,” he said, his arms moving suddenly to wrap around her as he sealed his lips to hers, his tongue stealing any response she might have made. He held her so tightly she scarce had room to breathe, hands roaming her flesh restlessly as he took her mouth.

Lily squirmed against him, whimpering and seating herself more firmly in his lap. Coherent thought fled her as she held his face, kissing him hungrily. Within moments he had shifted their clothing, urgently seeking to join with her, to claim her bodily. Lily gasped as he pushed inside of her roughly, allowing herself to be swept up and overcome by the fury of his passion. 

The sharp tips of his claws pricked at her skin as he clutched her hips with bruising force, rocking her hard for a few moments, sinking himself as deeply inside of her as their bodies allowed. Lily's legs shook with the overwhelming sensation as she choked on a moan, her breath caught up in the shocking pleasure of it.

Suddenly he moved and she held fast to his neck, steadying herself then as he manipulated her legs, sliding his arms under them to hook her knees over his elbows. His arms wrapped about her again, large hands stretching across her back to support her as her body folded, her feet hanging in the air to either side of his shoulders.

He started up again, using his new leverage to set a punishing rhythm and pull her down hard as she cried out with every harsh stroke. Lily's head hung back, the ends of her hair brushing at his thighs. His lips came to her throat, so enticingly bared to him, and he sucked and nipped at her skin, leaving a trail of reddened lovebites in his wake. 

Panting, she lifted her head to gaze at him. His eyes fixed on her intensely, boring into her spirit as deeply as his body bore through her own. Lily felt touched everywhere by him, held steadily by him, connected to him in near perfect communion. Her legs tensed and her toes curled tightly as she felt the beginnings of an intense climax build and her head drifted back slowly, her eyes squeezing closed. 

“ _Look at me_ ,” he demanded, his hands curling at her back.

Her head snapped up again as she found his eyes, hooded but intent upon her, as tremors started through her limbs and her core convulsed around him. They reached their bliss together, his low groan vibrating through her only sending more shocks though her body, the throbbing of his flesh prompting answering pluses in hers. He held her eyes through it, his rhythm faltering but briefly before he continued, giving her no reprieve.

He held her this way through another peak, and another, not letting her look away from him again, snarling at her when her eyelids drifted. Lily whimpered as her limbs tensed once more, feeling lightheaded. She let out a pitiful cry as her lower body went into relentless contractions and she released a torrent of fluids upon him with each one.

When the strongest of her waves had passed he lowered her and slipped his arms out from under her legs, pressing his hands back onto her hips, holding her down as she twitched, keeping himself deep as he followed her a final time into ecstasy. 

Lily's legs hung loosely over the arms of his chair and she fell forward, leaning into his shoulder and allowing her body to slacken as his arms wrapped around her. He held her close as his head tipped back languidly and his breath calmed.

After a few minutes Lily felt her senses come back to her, felt her awareness of the world expand to more than just him. She clenched her inner muscles gently, enjoying his soft answering groan, the way his hold shifted and tightened briefly. She kissed his clavicle, then his neck and took a deep breath.

“I’ll only be gone a few days,” she said in a quiet rush.

His arms dropped a fraction and his head tilted as his muscles slackened for a moment and he groaned, long and full of frustration, ending in an exasperated sound that turned out to be her name.

“ _Lily_ …”

“Not months or years, and certainly not forever.” Lily lifted her head to look at him, her eyes pleading though his were still shut tight, a pained look on his face. “I _will_ come back to you. My desire, my love for you does not waver. I will not _abandon_ you, I only wish to comfort an old friend.”

He groaned again, his head bouncing against the back of the chair twice. 

“ _Please_ , beloved, do not give me such grief for this. She is important to me.”

He chuffed, looking at her a moment from the corner of his eye. “I do not like other people being _important_ to you,” he said resentfully, and, Lily thought, a bit petulantly.

“I know, my love,” she said softly, stroking his cheek. Lily sighed as his eyes closed again. A thought struck her. “Send the hounds with me,” she offered, watching as he stilled, considering. 

After a few moments he looked at her again, this time turning his head to face her more fully. 

“You would accept the hounds as escort, even to the home of a loved one?”

“As long as they stay well away from her and her kin. If you promise me that, I will walk with them.”

He stared in silence another minute before responding. “One night, a single day and one night more,” he said quietly. “If you do not return by the second sunrise, I _will_ find you come sunset,” he sat up quickly, catching her as she was shifted back, “and I _will_ bring you home.” His face was close to hers, his breath suddenly harsh again. “At any cost,” he rasped, tilting his head and biting gently at the soft spot under her chin. 

“And you agree to keep the hounds at a distance, unless I exceed your time? I have your word?” she panted out, suppressing a whimper as he continued his assault down her neck.

“I agree,” he said, barely removing his mouth from her.

“Then it’s decided,” Lily managed before her voice fell to a helpless moan as his lips and teeth worked their way down to her shoulder and then slowly back up to her jaw. She felt him stiffen inside of her, the conversation having previously dimmed his ardor.

He began thrusting up into her gently, immediately bringing her awareness back to her still swollen, extremely sensitive sex. She moaned loudly, abruptly after a brief, shocked silence and grabbed him tightly as he ground her in his lap, hips tilting to meet hers. 

Lily panted as he gradually moved her more quickly, met her with firmer jolts of his hips. A tingling began in her belly and spread throughout her extremities and spots appeared in her vision. His lips came to hers, his tongue pushing past them. Her tongue flicked against his as she tried to respond, but the tingling had reached her lips and stolen her breath and she could not give him more than a broken sound from her parched throat as she let him plunder her mouth.

It took very little time for Lily to find herself flying again, the sheer force of her rapture drawing tears from her eyes as once more she slicked his abdomen and thighs with a gushing flow of completion. Still he rocked her, still he gripped her hips and thrust ever more roughly inside of her.

“I don’t know if I can bear it again,” Lily whispered haltingly, digging her fingers into his neck. He did not stop.

“You can,” he insisted, “once more.” His mouth wandered, latching back to her pulse point as he savored the warm patter of her quickened heartbeat.

“Alright,” she gasped. Lily held on tighter, trusting him.

“And do not let the sun fade the memory of this pleasure,” he whispered back harshly. “Remember what I give to you, remember every moment that no other can stir you as I do.”

She shook her head feverishly, burying her face into his neck. “ _Never_.”

Her next peak came as quickly as the last and even more violently. She muffled a scream into his neck and he luxuriated in the ripple of the sound through him and the warmth of yet another flood of liquid as it streamed down his skin, her legs shaking heavily as he allowed the clenching of her muscles to draw him to his own completion. 

When their bodies were slack once more and Lily had somewhat regained her breath, she looked up at him, taking gentle hold of his face as before to lay a soft kiss upon his dark lips.

“I will not forget that you are my home, I swear it.”

“Mother Night help me,” he grumbled, pulling her head to his lips and speaking against her hair, “for abdicating my will for love of a woman. You have pushed me past the edge of madness, vixen.”

“Don’t be dramatic, it’s called _compromise_. It'll seem a moment to you before I’m back,” she said, pulling back just enough to look at him.

“Minutes shall pass as hours as I await your return.” His hand ran up her neck, fingers snaking into her hair. “Hours shall pass as days.” Lily shivered as he ran his nose up her temple, inhaling her scent. 

“And I will miss you,” she told him quietly, “and my love will guide me swiftly to your arms again.”

He kissed her then, slowly and deeply, his hand gripping at her curls and tugging lightly at her scalp. He sighed after, holding her to him still.

“I will watch you as you go,” he said against her lips.

“And I will be comforted by your guard,” she said back.

Finally, after many lingering caresses and kissed away whispers, they parted enough to right their garments, though they finished out their meal with she in his lap. Lily drank her fill of the wine as they did so, content in her choices.

They stayed a while longer in his chair as he explained to her the simple but new way she would have to scry in order to find the magpie. Lily laughed in delight at her first glimpse of the bird soaring above the treetops in her ring's surface.

“With practice, you can even call it to you now. It will only heed you if it is loyal, but it will hear you,” he told her to her elation, though she preferred to leave her friend in the sun. She did not say so to him.

Lily looked on him with gratitude through their day together, for though he was solemn and his gaze rarely left her, he made no more complaint about her plans.


	4. A Revelation

They walked together though the corridor, stopping a dozen or so feet from the fissure in the stone which led into an upward sloping path, dirt and moss creeping down as it wound up to the surface. As they came to a stop Lily fussed with her clothing, smoothing her gauzy skirt and straightening the clasp of her black velvet cloak, sapphires offset by the glittering gown beneath. The colors were appropriate, she reasoned, as she made this visit in mourning.

“Sleeves,” she said suddenly, raising her hands to touch bare arms. She had insisted on a high collar to cover the aftermath of his passionate assault on her throat and he had gifted her a gown in deepest midnight with a shimmering overlay which covered her neck, though the fabric was light and did not leave her feeling stifled in the heat as it was midsummer and nearly as warm above as below. Her arms were left open to the air, as they were in most of her gowns. “I really should have sleeves.”

Lily fidgeted, looking up at him anxiously. He gripped her arms himself, brushing her hands away then returning to skim the backs of his fingers down from her shoulders. As he went the overlay grew down her arms and opened at the elbow, continuing to drape in loose waves of shimmering fabric which he caught as they elongated. He held them out, pulling slightly, until they reached past her fingers and then dropped them. Lily watched as the loose ends fluttered gracefully to disguise themselves amidst the folds of her skirt.

“Thank you,” she said with relief. 

“Nonsense to be so conservative in the heat,” he said lowly.

Lily sighed. “It’s just the way things are above.”

“It was not always so,” he told her, observing a smile cracking her flustered expression. “What?”

“In ages past?” she asked, “When humanity paid as much tribute to the dark as the light?”

“ _More_ ,” he corrected, at which she could not prevent her smile widening. “That is funny to you?” 

“No, but it _is_ endearing the way you tell me about it the same way each time.”

“I do no such thing,” he responded dismissively, tossing his head to the side.

“You do,” she returned, looking at him with affection.

He looked down, one brow raised at her. “I have never permitted such egregious disrespect to my person.” His claws scraped along her scalp as his fingers wove through her hair, knotting at the base of her skull and holding her gently. “Or such adamant defiance of my edicts.” He pulled her into him as he leaned forward, scraping his sharp teeth lightly along her jaw. 

“If you wanted agreeable and subservient, you would _not_ have continued to pursue me,” she claimed lightly. “Deny it and I will call you a liar.”

He snorted indignantly at her, then stilled in thought, studying her face. “I was bored,” he confessed to her finally. “I'd become bored and complacent, before the unicorns. Before you.” He sighed. “I will be bored again in your absence.” He tugged at the hair he still held, running his tongue lightly behind her ear.

“All will be well,” she insisted, shivering. Lily wrapped her arms around him and they held each other in silence a moment.

“It will be dawn too soon, you must go if the hounds are to escort you on your way,” he observed. Lily had not wanted to arrive to Nell’s home in the middle of the night, she had said, especially not with a new baby and the mother's sleep to consider. This was true, but there was another reason which she had not yet mentioned. “Your Queen's Guard waits above.”

Lily nodded as his grip on her hair loosened but did not disappear. “When they leave me in the forest as we near her cottage, I plan to linger,” she said.

He pulled back to look at her, his eyes narrowing and the hair in his grip again tugging at her scalp. “Why?” he demanded. “I thought your friend was your only destination.“

“She is,” Lily gasped, aroused despite herself at the sensation of him pulling at her curls. “I only want to watch the sunrise, and sit a while by myself in the morning light. Only a few minutes, and then I'll go to her. I don’t know when I'll see it again.”

His grip loosened once more, though his face did not relax. He frowned mightily at her and took an aggravated breath before pulling her tight to his chest. “I cannot blame you for your sentiment, simple as it is. It is only that you are no longer of that plane, and the tales are many of a creature of the underworld who emerges into the light and forgets who they are, blinded and dazzled, sometimes scorched. I should not fret, the chances are slim, and yet I know the stories to be true.”

“Is this why you fought so against my leaving? You worry about these things?” Lily's arms tightened around his waist as she looked up at him.

“It is not the _only_ reason,” he said, giving her a heated look.

Lily shudered, leaning to run her lips along his pectoral muscle for a moment, savoring the texture of his smooth skin. “I won’t linger in the glade long then, but I promise that your worries will not come to be. I am used to the light, I was born above.”

He held her a moment longer before bending to kiss her thoroughly. Lily whimpered softly, following his lips as he pulled away and stood to his full height. 

“Go now, walk with the hounds. Return to me soon. Do not forget your promises.”

“I swear,” she said, pulling him down for another brief kiss before turning away to climb up the graduated stone and dirt incline which led above. Lily looked back before she emerged, caught his eye once more as he watched her ascend.

The stars seemed brighter than she’d ever seen them as her head poked from the great tree's hollow, though her eyes blurred immediately with tears as the strong scent of sulfur wafted over to her from the mass of bodies nearby. Lily gagged as she pulled herself from the base of the tree, gathering an edge of her cape to cover her nose with as she stood.

“ _Ugh_ ,” she groaned, observing the hounds wearily.

They stared at her with red glowing eyes, grinning with sharp teeth and slavering as they awaited her movement. Like the largest wolves that had ever graced the wood, they stood nearly shoulder to shoulder with her, all sleek black fur and intent, predatory gaze. There were perhaps a score of them. Lily held her free hand out to the nearest, the largest, and waited.

He approached immediately, nuzzling his nose under her fingers with a canine snuffle. She smoothed her hand up the beast's muzzle and over his head, scratching at his ears before burying her fingers into his full ruff.

“Good boy,” she whispered through her cape, letting him go before turning and starting on her way. The ghastly hounds gave her space, allowing her to walk a few feet ahead before following. Lily dropped her cape, breathing the fresh air as she walked into the slight breeze.

As she went, she saw eyes blinking at her from the shadows, green and glowing. Lily stopped, approaching a pair which observed her from under the bough of a tree. She gazed into them, smiling. Their shape was familiar.

“Hello, beloved,” she whispered to the shadow before continuing on.

Lily was aware that she approached the clearing near Nell's home much sooner than she might have on her own, that he watched over her and eased her journey. Several times as she walked in the faint, waning moonlight she felt a shudder down her spine, felt phantom hands in the dark that she knew where his ghostly touch caressing her, reminding her of what she left behind.

Stopping, Lily turned to the pack that had followed her. “Go no further,” she told them. “Your master has promised that your escort stops here, and daybreak is at hand. Go, I will see you tomorrow night.”

Each of them stared eerily at her with crimson eyes, perfectly still. They were scattered between the trees, blurry silhouettes in the predawn fog as the sky lifted to a heavy grey. Farther back, Lily saw those eyes glowing still strongly though the shape of the animal faded into the dim backdrop. Slowly, those spots winked away as they turned, until the last of them was retreating back through the wood.

Lily let out a breath, relieved. She turned back to the clearing, stepping out and sinking down to sit in the tall grass that covered the side of a hill, the apex of which she currently rested atop. She glanced into a copse of trees, only to spy a glimmer of light and the tip of a wing as _something_ ducked behind the branch of an alder. She sighed, deciding to ignore the fair folk. They were like children- capricious and not nearly as wise as they thought they were. Their judgmental tittering did not interest her on this day.

Instead, she turned her gaze back to the sky as the last few stars faded from view and a halo of purple edged the horizon. She watched as the landscape slowly brightened, as the colors seeped back over the hills and between the clouds. 

Lily felt tears well as she watched the sun come up. She looked away, realizing that they were not tears of sentiment, but of discomfort. She rubbed at her stinging eyes, pulling up the hood which had until this moment hung loosely at her back.

She had not seen the sun in so long, Lily considered, and perhaps her lord's fears were not entirely unfounded. Clumsily, she stood and started down the hill, crossing the small field and finding the little path which led to Nell's garden. She walked past the clothesline, past the herb beds which sat near the house, approaching the back door nervously.

Closing her eyes as she took a steadying breath, Lily took a moment to prepare herself. Exhaling, she raised her hand and knocked gently on the weather-roughened wood of the sturdy but aged door. She waited impatiently, wondering if perhaps it was still too early in the day for a visit.

After only a few moments the door cracked open, a gasp escaping from beyond the gap as Lily lifted her face to view, pulling back her hood a bit though still blocking the sun. Suddenly the door was thrown wide as Nell emerged from the house.

“ _Lily_ ,” she gasped, raising a hand to her mouth, “ _Princess_! Oh,” the same hand reached out, fingers barely ghosting over Lily's cheek. “You look just the same… but I thought we'd lost you forever! Oh, my sweet girl!” 

The air was knocked from Lily's lungs as she was pressed against Nell's bosom, crushed in a maternal embrace that she had sorely missed. She gripped her old friend tightly and held on, unable to hold back a few shaky tears. 

“Oh dear me,” Nell sniffed, pushing Lily away just a bit. “Now let me look at you. Oh, but you are a sight for sore eyes!” Her hand came to Lily's cheek tenderly as they looked at one another. The bags under the older women’s eyes were heavy, creases of worry and sorrow marring her once-smooth face. She smiled a watery smile and Lily returned it with sadness. 

_She looks so tired_ , Lily thought with sympathy. 

“Where have you _been_ , Lily?” Nell asked, to which Lily could only look on helplessly and shake her head. “Well, never mind that for now. Come in, come in!” Nell encouraged, waving Lily through the threshold. “I’m just making breakfast. I keep making too much, now that it’s just… well,” she stopped just inside, overcome for a moment. She turned to face Lily and clutched her shoulders suddenly. “Oh, Lily.” She whispered tearfully. “My Arthur and my Freddie. Both of them, _gone_ ,” she sobbed.

“Oh, _Nell_ ,” Lily sighed, wrapping her arms around the older woman. She was unprepared for the news of Nell's eldest son’s death as well. “What happened?”

“A fever,” Nell sobbed quietly, as though trying to keep the sound of her weeping from escaping the room. “Like the one that took your own mother.”

Lily held her friend tightly, crying with her a minute. 

“But no more of that, now. I’ve wept enough to flood the valley this past month," Nell proclaimed, pulling back and wiping at her eyes. She looked into Lily’s face lovingly, a soft smile gracing her lips. “And a royal visit! We haven’t had one of the those in _years_!” She turned away, still holding onto Lily's hand, not seeing the shocked look in the younger woman’s eyes.

Lily was pulled into the kitchen where pots sat simmering and a large ball of bread dough rose in a corner. A tray of pastry sat on the counter invitingly and the familiar scents of yeast and sugar lingered in the air, making her mouth water and her heart ache with nostalgia. A soft sound from the corner brought her attention to a bassinet sitting near the table, filled with light blankets and a chubby bundle that squeaked plaintively once before settling back into a deep sleep.

“ _Oh_ , sweet precious thing,” Lily said, bending to look at the infant.

“Little Meredith,” Nell said, approaching. “My last, I suppose. I shouldn’t complain on account of that, though. Eight is a blessing.” Her breath caught at that and her hand came to cover her mouth as she corrected herself, “ _Seven_.” She choked on the word, a few tears escaping her.

“ _Eight_?” Lily exclaimed, alarmed. “The last I saw you there were three!”

Nell laughed through her tears, “You’ve been gone a long time, Lily. We all kept moving.” Silence stretched between them as Lily stood, gaping.

“How long has it been?” She asked.

Nell looked at her strangely, bringing over a cup of tea. “You don't know?”

“How long?” Lily demanded of her friend, leaning forward on the table.

“Goodness,” Nell said. “Eleven, no, twelve years now.”

Lily sat heavily in a nearby chair, staring at the baby sleeping peacefully a few feet away. “Twelve years…” she mumbled, stunned.

Nell approached slowly, sitting herself and looking to catch Lily’s eye. Her hand reached out, stroking her cheek in an attempt to coax her eyes up. “Dear Lily, please tell me where you have been. I had such terrible dreams after you left, not knowing what had become of you. The rumors spanned you falling in love with a peasant boy and eloping to your kidnapping and death. I’m only too relieved to see that the last is untrue. What of the rest?” 

“I don’t know how to explain,” Lily responded. Truly, she had not thought of this, of what she would disclose of her new life. She did not want to lie, but did not know that Nell, right-thinking, faithful Nell, would take well to her truth. Nell who had spent so many years warning her away from the dark spots in the forest, lecturing her about staying on paths and not forgetting that she was a lady. Nell who offered prayer to the heavens casually through her day and shunned the fairies for their mischief.

“ _Try_ ,” Nell pleaded, gripping Lily's hands.

“I did elope,” Lily said cautiously. She would try to be honest, but omit some of the pertinent details, she decided. She looked down at their joined hands, Nell's gaze following.

“Certainly not with a peasant boy,” Nell said quietly, her fingers drifting over Lily’s ring.

“No,” she responded, shaking her head slowly. Suddenly she felt choked, unable to breathe in the heat of the kitchen. She undid the fastening of her cloak, laying it over the back of her chair.

“Quite a dress,” Nell commented, eyeing the collar.

“He gives me many fine things,” Lily said, her hand coming up to graze her throat where she knew his kisses still marked her. 

“I can see that. Tell me about him,” Nell said, watching Lily's fingers brush the shimmering material.

Lily took a moment to steady herself. “He is good to me,” she began, “I love him very much.”

“He loves you?”

“Yes. He dotes upon me endlessly, would do anything just to please me. I could not ask for a more attentive lord.”

“He _is_ a lord, then?”

“He is a king,” Lily returned immediately.

“Oh _my_ ,” Nell gasped, “But what- I remember no news of such a wedding in nearby kingdoms. How could word not have reached us? How far have you traveled?” She looked at Lily carefully. “I don’t understand why it should be hidden, surely your father could not have objected to such a match? It is well befitting your station.”

“It is a complicated thing,” Lily said, not meeting her eye, regretting her thoughtless words. 

“What is his name? His country?”

Lily shook her head, panicking. What could she say? Such a conspicuous event as the elopement of even a foreign monarch would have been known. Her breathing quickened as they both remained silent, Nell tilting her head as she watched her friend struggle for words.

“Why do you travel alone and without guards?” Nell asked slowly, gripping Lily's hand tighter.

“I didn't,” she insisted, “I left my guards in the forest, I didn’t want them here.”

“Lily,” Nell began, but she was interrupted by a high, tentative voice from the kitchen doorway.

“Mama?” the little girl whispered loudly, peeking just the top of her head beyond the threshold.

Nell brightened immediately, holding her arms out to her child. “Lottie! Come here, I want you to meet someone special,” she glanced at Lily, giving her a look which told her that the conversation would continue later. Lily sighed, trying to calm her nerves. 

The girl scurried quickly from the door to her mother, hiding all but her eyes behind her chair. Her dark blonde hair was wispy, matted and tousled from sleep. Nell pulled her forward and ran her fingers though it, smoothing the baby-fine locks lovingly as Lottie wrapped her little arms around her mother and clung tight, burying most of her face against her bosom while staring wide-eyed at Lily.

“She’s a little shy,” Nell said affectionately, kissing the mussed head. “Lily, this is Charlotte. She was the baby not long ago, weren't you, Lottie?” Lottie giggled, nodding. “Do you remember Princess Lily? I told you about her, she used to come visit us.” Lottie nodded again, lifting her head as her mouth gaped open. “This is her. Say hello.”

Lily smiled at the girl as she stared, her pudgy hand poking out to wave as she said a quiet, “H'lo.”

“Hello Lottie,” Lily said softly, charmed. She felt the tightness in her chest ease a little as she looked into the large blue eyes, wide with curiosity and wonder. The three sat companionably while Lottie chewed on a scone, staring at Lily all the while. 

“Anna was married last year,” Nell said, speaking of her eldest child who Lily remembered as a precocious seven-year-old. Freddie had been only four. “Fell in love with a lad from Glennshire, lives there with him now. She’s eight months gone with my first grandchild herself.”

Soon the rest of the house began to stir, children emerging from the back of the house at the smell of eggs frying and the sound of their mother's gentle voice. Lily was astounded, faced again with the evidence of time passing that she could not reconcile with her own perception. 

Had it been so long? _Twelve_ years? She did not understand how it could be so. She suspected several months, perhaps even a year. She had not bled but a few times, though she was not prone to keeping track. If she had been told that two years had passed, she might have felt foolish for her inattention but would have believed it readily. This, though. Had she not been looking at Nell's children- children grown that she’d never seen arrive, a boy of fourteen who had the same name as a toddler she’d held not a week before she’d left- she would not have accepted it. Lily looked again at her friend's face, knowing now that the worry lines she had noted came not just with fatigue, but age.

The children were curious about her but polite, a testament to Nell's childrearing, and all knew her name. Nell kept them from asking too many questions, which Lily was grateful for though she knew that it was only a temporary reprieve. She sat mostly listening to their chatter, taking comfort in the simple domesticity of it. She’d never had siblings but had always wished for a large family, something just like this. 

Midway through breakfast Lily sighed, rubbing at her temple. Nell saw, placing a hand on her forearm in concern. “Lily, dear?”

“It's nothing,” she said. “A little headache. The sun is so bright today, I think its hurting my eyes.”

Nell gave her a strange look as she rose, patting her friend's arm. “Not to worry, I’ll just go draw the curtains.” She did so, watching Lily quietly when she sat down, noting the relief on her face as the room darkened but saying nothing.

They finished breakfast peacefully, though as it went on Lily noted a vague sadness that settled into the quiet moments between them. This was a house filled with love, and yet the sense of loss was palpable in the spaces around their words. She thought on the reason she had come, having been overwhelmed by Nell's inquiries and the thoughts of passing time.

As the chatter died down and the older children left to start their daily chores, Lily stared at a sunbeam on the floor, seeping in from under a closed curtain. 

“Nell,” she said quietly, holding a hand out to her friend as she finished wiping up Lottie's face. She'd come to a decision.

“Yes, love?” Nell grasped Lily’s hand, looking at her inquisitively.

“I’ll tell you where I’ve been, tonight, but don’t ask me again today. _Please_.”

Nell looked at her silently, seriously, searching her eyes for a long minute. She glanced briefly down at Lily's collar and back up to her face again, sighing heavily. 

“Alright,” she said softly, finally. And she did not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Author peeks out from behind the screen*
> 
> I've never been so desperate for external validation before. Comments help me write!
> 
> *Author vanishes mysteriously*
> 
> Xx


	5. A Summer Storm

Lily sat back in her chair, pulling a knitted blanked around her shoulders snugly. It was such a warm evening, but she couldn’t resist the comforting glow of the hearth, the cloth wrapped tightly around her warmed by the low flames. It reminded her of home, of being wrapped in her lover's arms.

The day had passed so quickly, it seemed. Lily helped Nell in the house through the day, mostly holding Meredith and listening to her friend as she spoke of her life, her family, everything that Lily had missed. All of the children were abed now, except the tiny baby who nursed at Nell's breast in another chair nearby. Lily watched them together, her eyes soft, and felt a vague yearning at the sight. Nell was such a wonderful mother. 

“May I hold her again?” Lily asked quietly once the infant had fallen asleep, her belly full.

Nell smiled at her, standing to pass over the small bundle. She retook her seat with a sigh, looking at Lily as she put her nose to the baby's head and took a long breath before resting her cheek against the downy hair.

“Twelve years married with none of your own,” she observed compassionately. Lily shrugged, not lifting her head.

“Perhaps it is not meant for us,” she replied noncommittally.

Nell shook her head once, sadly. “A shame,” she said. Lily sighed, unsure of how to respond.

“Nell,” she started hesitantly, after they had sat in silence a minute, “I wanted to ask you, but I’ve lacked courage. Do you know how my father has been? Is it said that the king is in good health? Has he remarried?” Lily held her breath as she waited for Nell’s answer. She had not looked in on him herself, fearing to find him mourning for her still, though she had not realized before that so much time had passed. 

“He is and he has,” Nell said. “Queen Imogen is said to be a great beauty. Young, too. Ten years your elder, or something like. Given him three children, two princes and another princess.”

Lily exhaled heavily. She was glad to know that he was well, that he had people around him to love. She wasn’t sure if she’d ever see him again. 

“That is good news," she said, relieved. 

“Will you not go visit him yourself?”

She shook her head slowly. “No. Maybe someday. It's… too much, right now.” Lily stood, placing Meredith in her bassinet and sitting again.

Nell stared hard at the younger woman, leaning forward in her chair to catch her eye, resting elbows on knees as her clasped hands touched her chin. “Now,” she said, her voice soft, coaxing, “where did you go? You promised.”

Lily nodded but hesitated. She felt calmer than she had this morning, but still struggled to find words. She stared into the fireplace for a long time before she spoke. “I’m so afraid to tell you,” she finally whispered.

“Your husband,” Nell said slowly, carefully, “Is he a cruel man? Sometimes?”

Lily almost laughed at the irony of the question, though she did not know why Nell should ask. “Extremely,” she confessed honestly, “but never to me.”

“Are you certain, Lily? Do you never feel his temper?” She leaned in further, looking greatly concerned at Lily's answer.

“No, Nell. I don't.” Lily said, feeling agitated by her question. Neither of them counted the injuries of their first meeting against the other.

Nell nodded, taking a deep breath. “I'm sorry to press, dear. I gave you today, but you must be honest with me now.”

“I _am_.”

“ _Lily_ ,” Nell begged, “ _please_.” She swiped her cheeks with her hands before continuing, taking another deep breath. “I could see the bruises on your neck. This fabric,” she said, reaching out and running the sparkling pendant of Lily's sleeve through her hands, “It's sheer in the sunlight. This morning, before we drew the curtains, I could see them.”

Lily’s hand rose to her throat. There was no way to have known before she left.

“You say that he is a king, and yet no royal house has claimed you.” Nell grasped Lily's hand, holding it in both of hers, squeezing gently. “You’ve always been fair of skin, but you’re so _very_ pale. Are you running away from something, Lily? Does he keep you hidden? Do you need help?”

“No,” Lily insisted, squeezing Nell's hand in return. “ _No_ , it isn’t like that at all.” Out of the corner of her eye she saw a flash of luminescent green. She met the serpentine gaze briefly, taking comfort in the presence she knew lurked behind it. “These marks are not from his hands,” she said, blushing. 

Nell raised an eyebrow at her, frowning.

“He did not hurt me. We were… making love, and he-"

“Alright, alright,” Nell interrupted. She huffed a little, almost a laugh but her eyes were stern. “Why let him do such a thing? Can he not show some restraint for the sake of your dignity?”

“What fun would that be?” she asked with humor, though she realized too late that perhaps it wasn’t the best response to make when Nell gave her _that_ look, that stern _mother_ look that she used to give Lily when she did something unladylike. “I didn’t even notice until afterwards,” she told her sheepishly, not adding that she wouldn’t have cared a whit if she had, trying to look contrite.

Nell patted her hand and sat back with a sigh, her face going soft and neutral again. She closed her eyes for the span of a breath before looking at Lily, this time with a slight smile. “It’s not so very bad,” she said at last. “I'm relieved it isn’t what I thought. I'd rather know that I failed to curb your reckless habits than know you loved a man who treated you with cruelty.”

Lily nodded, considering her next words carefully. “That is really the thing of it, Nell. He makes no attempt to restrain my habits, makes no judgement on me for any of my desires. He doesn’t keep me hidden, I choose to live in secret with him because he is the only person I have ever felt perfect liberty with, and I do not want anyone to try to _rescue_ me.”

Nell stared hard at Lily, her expression unreadable as she thought. “Why should anyone feel they needed to rescue you, if all is as you have told me?” She asked quietly, seriously.

Lily was at a loss for words again.

“You come to me dressed so finely, in such colors. That _ring_ ,” she nodded towards Lily's hand, to the huge, opulent piece, undeniably beautiful but so _very_ dark, “the things you say about him… And you have not aged a _day_. I just don't know.” Nell's voice dropped as she continued, so quiet that Lily had to strain to hear her. 

“The dreams I had when you disappeared frightened me terribly, Lily. I thought they must be nightmares of my own imagination, because I worried for you, because I missed you. But my dreams have shown me strange truths before, and now I’m frightened again.” 

Lily held her breath, intent gaze riveted on her friend.

“I dreamt that the Dark Lord himself had stolen you away,” Nell whispered, swallowing hard. “Tell me that they were only nightmares, Lily.”

She let go of her breath and let her eyes slip closed, turning her face towards the fire before opening them again. Staring into the flames, Lily licked her dry lips before she spoke. “He did not steal me away. I told you, I chose to live with him.”

“ _No_ ,” Nell gasped, her hands drawing to her mouth in shock. “It cannot be.”

“ _Please_ just _try_ to understand,” Lily said softly but insistently, still gazing at the fireplace. “He treats me with care, guards my happiness, keeps me in every comfort.” She heard Nell huff a bit and faltered, stung. “He pursued me in dreams until I could no longer deny what he offered- freedom, pleasure, devotion everlasting. I think that I am no longer _mortal_ , Nell.”

“They say he is like a _beast_.”

“He is, but he is also like a man.”

Nell shook her head, silent. Suddenly she inhaled deeply, inquisitively, choking on the end of her breath and covering her nose and mouth. “What is this smell?” she mumbled, pushing herself to her feet. She stumbled towards the window which was cracked in the warmth of the evening, letting in a swift summer breeze which until that moment had been tinged with the scent of lilacs and night-blooming jasmine from beyond the garden, soft and lovely.

“The hounds…” Lily whispered dreamily, still not lifting her eyes from the fire.

“The _hounds_?” Nell hissed back, horrified.

“They wait in the wood to escort me home,” Lily continued, “It's sulfur, the smell.”

“Sulfur. _Brimstone_?! Have ye brought hellhounds to my very doorstep, _princess_?” Nell spat, suddenly looking on Lily with fury. “Have we not yet seen enough death in this house? Will it be you that brings it to us now?”

Lily looked up then, alarmed. “No!” she insisted, “They will keep their distance, I swear it. My lord commands them, and he has promised me that he will not be unreasonable. He has that ability, though he does not exercise it near often enough,” she glanced furtively towards the corner where she still felt his eyes on her, though the glistening peridot had long winked out of sight. Nell followed her glance and saw nothing but the formless shadows, though a shiver of unease ran through her. “He is… overprotective, but willing to show restraint when I ask him to.”

“Begone, girl. You are my Lily no more,” Nell said shakily, hurrying to stand beside the bassinet. She placed herself bodily between Lily and her sleeping infant.

“Nell,” Lily gasped, hurt, “I am, _I am_. You do not… understand what it is to be loved by him...”

“ _Loved_?” Nell spat back, a twisted echo of a distant dream. “What love can such a creature know but the sin of it? I see his _love_ at your throat, I see what you are to him. You wouldn’t be the first maid to mistake the slaking of a man's lust for fidelity.”

“All things love that feel,” she responded quietly to a momentarily subdued Nell. After a moment, though, Lily became quite furious herself. “But what is the _sin of it_?” she asked sharply. “Do you deny, after _eight_ children, that you sought comfort in your own husband’s flesh?”

“A _blessed_ union, a _fruitful_ one-"

“And after all that I speak of his care, how he dotes upon me, you speak of sin?”

“I know the way of things.”

“As do I, these days,” Lily rose from her chair, clutching at her blanket, wrapping it more securely around herself. She stood still, staring once more into the fire.

“I see that you think you do,” Nell said, “but your union is not sanctified. You have damned yourself as his infernal bride, but you are naught but the devil's own harlot.”

“How can you say such things?” Lily asked sadly. “We made vows in solemnity and he keeps no other mistress. We shall walk eternity together.” She felt her statement acutely as she spoke it, appreciating the substance of it in a new, visceral way after the day she'd had.

“And yet he is Darkness himself. You have pledged yourself to the night, and you bring it into my _home_ ,” Nell grabbed to the edge of the bassinet, hovering over her newborn. “You have touched my _child_ ,” she seethed. “Wicked strumpet. Portent of _death_!” Her eyes blazed from a face flushed with indignation. 

Lily winced, feeling as though she had received a physical blow. Outside, the breeze picked up and the smell of sulfur carried strongly into the house as the curtains whipped lightly about the windowpane. “I have loved you as a mother, Nell,” she whispered.

“You are no daughter of mine,” Nell responded just as quietly.

Nodding, Lily looked towards the door. “I should go,” she breathed softly, shakily. “I should not have come at all.”

“Right you’d be on that account,” the other woman said unkindly, tears in her eyes. “Better off as our dear lost princess, you were, Lily.”

Lily took a deep breath, putting the blanket down onto the chair and straightening, finding her cloak, doing her best to keep her composure. “My real mother called me Lily. The people who _love_ me call me Lily. _You_ may address me formally, and I am _no longer_ a princess.”

“Aye, aye! Then better it be Queen Lilith of the damned, _her majesty_ the sullied, who has _chosen_ her fate! _Begone_ , I say!” Nell sobbed.

The door was swinging closed before Nell had finished, Lily’s own tears kept at bay only until the moment her back had turned. She cried heartily as she walked, stumbling blindly through the woods but meeting no ill. Eyes gazed intently at her from the shadows, though she did not see them as they followed her path, noticed only vaguely as it smoothed before her.

She stopped a moment, overcome, and was startled when a large body appeared to her side, gently nudging a darkly furred, pointed muzzle under her arm as it lowered itself in offering. Grateful, she collapsed over the back of the great beast, wrapping her arms around its neck and her legs around its flank. The scent of sulfur invaded her senses as she rested her head against its scruff, making her slightly nauseous. Lily turned her face outwards, catching the air as her mount rose and began to move onward, quickly taking a pace which left the forest blurring before her eyes. She shut them tightly, allowing the hound to carry her swiftly home.

She had been so _desperately_ hopeful that somehow Nell's love for her would be strong enough to survive her honesty. Some part of her had known, though, that it was a foolish hope. She sobbed still, let her sorrow soak the hound's coat and echo behind her on the wind. Trees whipped by and the body under her swayed as it dodged lifted roots and staggered trunks with an otherworldly smoothness, keeping her evenly balanced as they rode on.

A sudden decline startled her, as though they had jumped headfirst down a small cliff. Lily opened her eyes just as the hound slid to a stop, gently laying on the floor at the hooved feet of his master. 

Lily glanced briefly around her, noting the massive pillars in the cavernous hall she had departed from before turning her eyes up to him. He looked at her solemnly, leaning to offer a hand which she eagerly took, standing and throwing herself against him.

“Will you leave me again?” he asked softly, leaning to wrap his long arms around her as her tears wet his chest. She made little sound, only breathed short, heavy breaths as they flowed, as she shook her head in answer.

He bent further, lifting her, guiding her legs to wrap around his waist, carrying her away as the rest of the pack filtered in and slunk off.

“What would you like to do now?” He asked, holding her at eye level.

“The storm,” she managed to choke, holding his shoulders.

“Oh, _yes_ ,” he groaned, his arms tightening. “You will wield much power with such practices,” he praised. “Would you like a larger space? The throne room, perhaps?”

Lily thought briefly of the huge, rough-hewn cavern which seated his throne, the fiery pit lined with bones which sat below it, ready to receive sacrifice and tribute.

“No,” she said, shaking her head.

“Very well.” He walked with her down long halls, through doors and portals, across rooms that echoed her distressed breathing until they reached the less spacious but more comfortable workroom.

When they entered he set her on her feet, keeping hands on her shoulders as she steadied herself. He stepped away slowly, seating himself at the heavy wooden table in front of his crystal globe, resting a hand on it.

Tears left tracks on Lily's cheeks as she collected her things, mostly set aside and already awaiting her attention, having been so often used lately. She began immediately, kneeling to lay chalk to the stone floor as she drew patterns and symbols, laying out candles over them and arranging bowls of water and salt and fragrant herbs, opening her ritual.

He watched her but kept some of his attention on the polished orb in front of him, monitoring the clouds. The heat of the evening and the strength of her sorrow made this an auspicious opportunity for her attempt, and Lily heard his claws click as he tapped them on his crystal in anticipation.

“Very distracting,” she mumbled, smiling softly to herself when he stopped without a word. 

Lily continued, breathing deeply and letting the searing hurt that she had been clinging to consume her as she spoke her incantations and performed her ritual. She thought of Nell and her renouncement of her love, thought of how readily she had turned her away. She thought of her mother, so young dead, leaving behind a daughter who had adored her, a daughter who had felt adrift in the world without her guidance and companionship. 

“ _Yes_ ,” she heard him whisper quietly, seeing movement in the crystal he held from the corner of her eye, a flash of light beside the stars.

She sat, sobbing ever more loudly as she repeated the words through her tears, letting them drop in speckles over her line work, smudging it. Lily did not bother to correct the disruptions of her sadness. Instead, she laid down amidst her tools, letting the grief overwhelm her.

He watched her as she cried, as her limp form shook and her eyes rained as violently as the night skies. Lightning flashed again in the depth of the crystal and his eyes moved to observe, his hand caressing the globe. Purple and red streaked the raging heavens, uncanny and mesmerizing. 

“Beautiful,” he breathed, turning his eyes back to her.

He rose, crouching just outside of her circle. “Lily,” he said to her as she cried on, no longer chanting, lost to the ache inside. “Finish now, love.”

It took her a moment but she rose on her hands, doing as he bade sloppily, vision blurred as her weeping continued. When she had done all that was necessary she stopped, not particularly caring to clean up after herself.

“Don't give it another thought,” he told her softly, lifting her carefully from the floor as he stepped over scattered objects towards the door. He carried her the short distance to their personal suite and quickly he was reclining on the bed with her wrapped around him, resting on his lap. 

When she did not still as he held her but continued to sob harder instead, he leaned forward, laying her on her back in front of him. He gained his knees but sat down with her legs resting high over his thighs, running a hand up her torso as he leaned in, lowering his face to hers. He kissed her, holding her down gently with one hand stretched wide over her chest, the other in her hair.

Her breath hitched but she kissed him back, holding herself to him with her arms around his neck, pressing up as she opened her mouth, inviting him in where his tongue met hers. She whimpered, choking as her tears slowed and ceased as he lingered. Finally he pulled back, watching as they only started again. 

His tongue slid over each of her temples before he returned to her lips, staying a few minutes after she had calmed. When he saw her eyes immediately continue to well as he pulled back a small distance, he leaned down and kept contact with her as he remarked, “This all disturbs you so deeply.”

Lily nodded, holding him against her tightly. “It’s like losing her all over again,” she whispered against his lips. She did not speak of Nell.

“Would you like me to pleasure you until you forget your sorrows?” he asked, offering the only true solace he understood, the only thing he knew invariably soothed her nerves. “To exhaust you until you can only sleep a peaceful sleep, remembering nothing but the heat of my love?”

Lily nodded, whispering quietly, breathily, “Yes please,” as his hands travelled to divest her slowly of her clothing, caressing her naked skin as he tugged at the buttons and ran his fingers under the material. He removed his own garments as well, never breaking from her, only leaving her lips to kiss her jaw and run his tongue along her neck, trailing his claws around her skin and leaving gooseflesh behind them.

Lily moaned as he pushed inside of her, as she was reminded yet again that she belonged with him, that she was complete with him here, dancing with her. 

He did as he told her he would, following her into a placid sleep quite some time later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, we are nearing the end of this story. Maybe. (I have no idea how many more chapters there will be- we're not done *quite* yet)
> 
> There *will* be at least one sequel. I'm excited for it and have it mostly planned out (and several pieces written), but I'm still kicking my final concept into acceptable shape.
> 
> Onward ho! Xx


	6. A Flood

High above, as most of the kingdom slept, clouds gathered and grew tall in great bunches. The stars were obscured and the new moon hung darkly, so when the first dim flashes of lighting began to disturb the black evening many folk were startled awake.

Rain fell in great, heavy splashes over the land as the winds grew and the tang of ozone hung sharp in the air. For miles, homes closed their shutters tight and families huddled anxiously as thunder boomed, sudden and heavy. The noise grew rapidly as lightening flashed, strange, dark lightning that streaked blood red and violet across the heavens, an ominous marbling cut through a dark, boiling sky.

Through the capital and the villages beyond, all the way to the mountains in the west, the rains and the eerie lightening crept along. The thunder droned on until it was a single unceasing note, an unending bellow of misery and rage that left all who heard it aching, turning to loved ones in comfort, tears falling in sympathy with those that splattered against their windowpanes. 

Dawn came and went, though still the storm raged and the sky hardly lightened. Roofs leaked and animals sought higher ground as pools collected, as people glanced from their windows in worry. Travelers panicked as they struggled to find shelter, and somewhere off of a country road a young couple who could not lost their cart, amongst other precious things.

The valley flooded first.

Lily slept on.

* * *

When she awoke, relaxed and fuzzy-headed, the first thing she saw was her beloved's face, watching her. She smiled sleepily at him and said, “Good morning,” before pulling him down for a soft kiss.

“Good morning,” he replied after. “Did you rest well?”

Lily nodded but stopped, looking at him oddly. “Is it? Morning, I mean.”

He paused, his eyes going unfocussed a moment. “Nay,” he told her, “’Tis nearing evening.”

“Do you always do that?” She asked, immediately exasperated.

“What?”

“Humor my sense of time even when it's completely wrong?”

“Yes. It seems to please you,” he said plainly. Lily huffed, affronted. “Why? You believe truly that I greet the morn with pleasantries? Mostly I do not even look when you say such things. _Sometimes_ perhaps you are right.” 

Her hands flailed once and she huffed again. “I just don’t think that it _helps_ very much,” she whispered, blinking hard. She stared at him. “Do you know how this has happened?” He stared back at her a bit blankly. “How it is that twelve years have passed since I was last above?”

He looked at her in bafflement for a moment, a near comical expression that she had never seen on his face. “Time passes as it does, Lily.”

“Why did you not tell me?” she asked, and his continued confusion frustrated her. “How long I have been here with you?” she clarified at his look.

“You did not ask,” he shrugged, “I did not think it important, I did not realize that you did not note the time passing, I do not mark the years myself as a matter of course. Take your pick, all are true.”

Lily sighed deeply, trying to collect herself. “How could I not have sensed the passage of time? It seems absurd, what happened to the _years_?”

“They passed, and you did not look. Only that.”

She shook her head, disbelieving. 

“You are not mortal now. Eternity is much more than the span of a human life, you could not have expected otherwise when I asked you to spend it with me?”

Lily shook her head slowly. “No, but I would not have expected _this_.”

“Immortality affects perception in ways that are hard to explain, especially as I have known nothing else. I did not consider that you would find it so shocking,” he told her. “Sometimes an era ends in a blink. Others, each moment feels stretched beyond bearing and each day passes in bleak slowness, like the gradual erosion of stone under trickling water. Every second drips by with torturous languor and the day does not end until the stone is worn through.” He closed his eyes, breathing evenly for a moment. “When I said that I was bored before you, it is really that. Nothing to distract me from the agony of the seconds rolling away as I sat, unceasing and _alone_.”

“No longer,” she said, touching his cheek.  
  
“No,” he said, “The time has felt brief since your arrival.”

“It has. This is all very disorienting, the days have not seemed so many.”

He nodded, thinking a time before he spoke. “Were I to keep clocks, you could sit for days and observe the hands, watch as they seem to speed and slow depending on your mood. Time is still constant, it is only perception, and yet as the hours pass, sometimes, they may circle ‘round the face more times than they used to do before you hunger again, or before you seek rest. Immortal bodies do not keep rhythm like the days and the seasons, it is all a give and take of energy. Perhaps we have slept less frequently than you expected. As well, when finally you sleep, it is often deeper. It is often longer, as are the hours you wake. I’m sure that will steal time in unexpected ways, too.”

Lily closed her eyes with a sigh. “And how long have we slept just now?”

“Four nights and four days. It is twilight above, the dusk will descend soon.”

“And how long did the storm last?”

“Four nights and three days.”

Lily was silent a moment, shocked. “Was it very bad?” she asked him, afraid of the answer.

“ _Yes_ ,” he panted out, his slit pupils dilating as they fixed on her and he thought of her display of power. “It was _terrible_. It was _magnificent_.” He hovered over her, pressing her down as his hips sunk to hers. She felt his arousal against her thigh, hot and eager already. “Raw energy, and the _emotion_. The fear, the horror, the anguish, the _lust_ as people huddled close and watched the skies from their bedroom windows, wondering if their homes would survive.”

Lily gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. “Did it flood?”

“Yes, though not much life was lost. No fault of yours, of course, those things take additional strategy.”

“I did not _want_ loss of life at _all_ ,” Lily told him sharply, her hand worming quickly between them so that she could look into her ring. She blinked hard, taking a deep breath as her eyes went glassy. He gave her a moment as she stared into its surface, releasing her breath with a quiet puff and then taking another. She stared a long time before closing her eyes and resting her hand finally on his shoulder. “My father is alive. He looks well. So is… Nell.” She finished quietly, her eyes still closed. Lily had lingered on the vision of Nell's house, observing the face of each child she had met, aching at the knowledge that she would never visit them again. She did not check on Jack, though she wondered briefly about him. 

“Why do you bother to look in on her?”

Lily took another deep breath before she opened her eyes and looked at him again. “Because sometimes you can’t help but keep loving people, even after they have rejected you,” she said softly. 

He gazed at her in the low light of the fire, running the backs of his claws against her temple. “Perhaps I understand,” He said, leaning to kiss her. Lily's stomach growled, making him chuckle. “The constancy of your hunger even now amazes me.”

“Why do I even need to eat?” she asked suddenly, sullenly. “I won’t starve to death now, will I?”

“No. You will also not decay. You will not grow ill in the ways that mortals do. And yet, you are still flesh, animated. Should you starve yourself, you will waste, you will suffer, but you will not _die_. Indeed, there are many an immortal who generate power this way, by harnessing that suffering. I have done it before, myself. Only for certain purposes, you understand.” 

“Of course,” Lily said slowly. She dropped her head to the side, letting her eyes drift closed.

He observed her a long minute, watched as her face relaxed. “Shall we take breakfast?” he asked her softly after a time. Lily remained silent a while longer as he waited.

“You know, it’s strange,” she said, whispering distractedly, “but it all feels so distant now when I think on it. I remember everything happening just yesterday, and yet its like the pain is years old. When my mother died, I cried for _weeks_. This hurt almost as much, and yet I feel like I couldn’t shed a single tear today.”

He hummed in acknowledgment, stating, “You have harnessed your own suffering, channeled it into the spell, used it up. The storm was as glorious as the pain that you gave to it, and you gave so _very_ generously,” he said, tracing her ear with a claw tip. “Also, it was not yesterday. It was four days ago.”

Lily groaned. “That last bit isn't comforting.”

“Then tell me what will comfort you,” he entreated, sinking his fingers into her hair, breathing in her scent deeply as he ran his nose across her temple. She groaned again, this time with desire as she turned her face towards his. 

“You know the answer,” she breathed as he skimmed his lips along her cheek towards her mouth. He kissed her firmly once, moving immediately down to her neck and lower, tracing her collar bone with his tongue and scraping the sharp points of his teeth across her sternum. Lily held to the back of his head and neck as he continued to her breasts, nipping at the soft, gently rounded undersides before sucking at each nipple until they were tight and aching. He moved lower still, biting gently at the taught skin of her belly, tonguing her navel for a moment as she squirmed.

“I suppose it's easy to lose track of time this w-way, too… _ah_ …” Lily stuttered as he bit her hip bone and then ran his tongue along the crease next to it.

“Oh yes,” he said against her, his hot breath in the soft curls on her mound making her shake slightly in anticipation. “We do tend to while away _many_ hours in carnal pursuits. Days, occasionally.”

Lily raised her head, propping herself up on her elbows to look at him. “You jest,” she said incredulously.

His head shook slowly, horns swaying in the air just above her before trapping her hips as he lowered his mouth. Lily moaned as his tongue swept between the delicate folds of her flesh and curled inside of her, as his hands wrapped around each of her thighs to hold her open to him. Her toes wriggled in the sheets and her hips shifted, pushing up as her hands swept over his head, gripping him restlessly.

He ate at her greedily, hungrily, his own low moans of enjoyment sending tingles through her limbs. Suddenly desperate to hold him, to feel them joined, Lily tugged hard at his horns but he took no notice, intent on his task. 

“Please,” she whimpered, still pulling up on him, “come here, please, _please_ …”

This he did notice, looking up at her finally, imparting a last kiss, sucking at her lips in parting as he raised himself over her. Lily grabbed his face, dragged him down by the neck to kiss him deeply, further inflamed by the taste of herself on his tongue, by her own scent mingling with the frankincense and heady oils that forever clung to him.

He pulled back to watch her face as he pressed inside of her, watched as her eyes fluttered and her brow furrowed, as her pouting lips opened with a gasp. Lily snaked her arms around his ribs tightly, gazing back up at him as he withdrew slowly and then pushed again hard, wringing a startled cry of pleasure from her throat. Her legs lifted to encompass his hips, ankles locked as he continued, the force of each thrust jarring her against the sheets.

When her peak approached she clutched him tighter still, her lips pressed against his shoulder, stifling the keening noise that she could not keep from her throat. Her thighs twitched and the muscles in her belly tightened as she began to come apart, feeling the hot throb inside of her that told her of his own release. Lily shook, her long, stuttering moan keeping harmony with his, the sweetest song she knew.

“Forever,” she panted against his shoulder as he kept moving, though his pace became more leisurely. 

“Yes,” he said back, leaning down to run his tongue over her lips. “ _Forever_.”

* * *

Lily walked down the corridor, running her fingers over each stone column she passed. The height of the room was astonishing, especially considering that the dimensions appeared utterly impossible. The ceiling seemed miles away, and yet she knew that she would have to climb but a short ways to emerge above if she approached the great tree's hollow.

When she had walked a fair distance, unable to see the doors to the great hall or the inside of the portal above, she sat heavily against a pillar and slid to the ground. She was alone here, unobserved, she knew, as her lord tended to his duties, sitting in meditation and feeding his shadows.

Her hands rested on her knees, drawn up so that she could focus her vision on the obsidian above her knuckles. She sought the magpie, looked to the forest to find her, watched her groom herself from the branch of a tree.

It was a sunny day above, though the flood waters had yet to drain. She tried hard not to concentrate on that fact, watching instead as the bird sat in the shade contentedly combing her feathers. Lily sat for a while, thinking, still uncertain of her decision though she sat prepared to follow through with it. She did not want to trap her little friend.

“But we all must be allowed to make our own choices, mustn’t we?” she said softly to the image reflected in the stone. The magpie preened on.

Lily sighed, whispering a call, a request, a command. To her amazement, the little black head perked up, tilting to one side. The bird was absolutely still, seemingly listening. She whispered the word again, focusing on her connection with the creature, willing herself to be heard. The magpie's head twitched once more and Lily held her breath as they both went still. 

Suddenly she was off, lifting swiftly from the branch in a flutter of black and blue. Lily gasped, hopeful. She watched and she waited, slowly recognizing the landscape as it changed beneath the soaring magpie, greenery thinning out to barren fields and swamplands. 

Lily did not know how long it took, but it seemed a short few minutes before she heard the familiar sound of flapping wings echoing around her. Her heart leapt as she looked up towards the noise, watching the dark corners of the hall for movement. She let out a soft, startled cry when finally she saw the small, dark body speeding towards her, raised her arms in eager greeting.

The movement in the room calmed as the magpie found her, alighting upon her extended wrist with a quiet squawk. Lily brought her arms in, delicately cradling the bird near her chest. The beady black eyes blinked up at her, watching as she smiled down tremulously. 

“Hello again, little one,” Lily said. The magpie chittered at her briefly. “Have you been well?” She stroked the bird's head with one finger, smiling wistfully. How she _wished_ that she had asked Jack to teach her magpie during their time together. Perhaps, if her little friend would agree to her proposal, over time they would find their understanding.

“I'd like you to stay with me, at least sometimes. Would you do that?” Lily raised the bird to her eye level. “Would you keep my company like a familiar, serve me on occasion, be my emissary to the above if I require one? I shouldn’t like to go back myself,” she trailed off quietly. The magpie uttered a low _gawp_.

“I have something for you, but you don't have to take it,” she continued, reaching slowly into the bodice of her gown, removing a bundled black handkerchief but not unwrapping the contents. “It's a blackberry, the sweetest you have ever tasted, but it is a gift with a price. He tells me it's the food, you see. The fruit. The fruit that grows here does not die.”

The magpie was still and silent, watching her.

“A mortal who eats enough of it will not either.” Lily swallowed. “It becomes a part of you as it nourishes you, becomes your flesh, as food does. It will make you eternal, but it is as dark as everything else in this place. It would whither in the sun, and that is the price. That is what must be exchanged for this life. Eventually, you would whither if you stayed the sun as well.” She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “As would I.”

Lily set the handkerchief in her lap and reached into her bodice a second time, now removing a small pot. “I’ve made you this,” she said, careful not to jostle the magpie's perch on her arm as she removed the lid. “It will help you see the truth of what I offer you.” She dipped a finger into the pot, slowly raising it to one of the bird's piercing eyes. The small head stayed still as she swiped her finger over the delicate socket, spreading the ointment carefully. 

When she pulled her hand away the glistening eyes blinked rapidly, the sheen of the potion leaving the surrounding feathers slick and glossy. Lily laid the ointment pot on the ground, picking back up her handkerchief and pulling the berry from within. Slowly she extended her hand in offering. Immediately the bird moved to peck at the fruit but pulled back, head cocked, the eye that had been treated fixed on it. She stared a long moment as Lily waited with bated breath.

Chittering again quietly, the magpie leaned forward and sunk her beak into the berry. She tore at it, splashing small drops of juice across Lily’s palm, tilting her head up to swallow bits of its tender black flesh. Lily laughed breathlessly, feeling some nervous tension inside of her ease. Not so dire a choice, she thought, to trade the sun for life and companionship.

Lily sat quietly as the magpie ate, smiling softly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel pretty certain that there will be one more chapter followed by an epilogue for LR.
> 
> That being said, this chapter took a little bit to get out because... I was writing ahead. I have a transitional one shot that will be posted after this story is complete, though it's almost finished now. (It's a little piece of Darkness POV, lots of fun to write!)
> 
> I've also finished the outline of the next multi-chapter story as well as written several chunks of it. I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT IT THAT ALL CAPS ARE NECCESARY. 
> 
> :)


	7. A Lily

After seeing the magpie off, Lily walked the corridor lost in thought. A soft rustle was the only notice given before a short, waifish figure stepped into her path and she jumped, a rather undignified yelp escaping her.

“Excuse the startle, mistress,” said the creature, his voice uncannily deep and textured from the lips of a child. No child was this, though, for Lily did recognize Honeythorn Gump, an elder of the fairy. “I seek your audience, and this is not a place to announce myself loudly.”

Only once had she met him, days after her return to the forest with Jack. Jack had said that Gump wanted to thank her for all she had done, but Lily wondered whether all was truly forgiven. He had stared deeply, searchingly into her eyes and seemed to find something which lent him a resigned sort of air. She could never decide if he had found her somehow wanting in that moment, but thank her he did, and she had not seen him again until now.

“Lord Gump,” she said carefully, cordially, “Perhaps you are right. The master of these halls does not generally mind your kin in his realm, but you in particular he might not be pleased with.” 

“Aye, that was my suspicion,” he said, his eyes grave though a smirk tugged at his lips.

“Consider your audience granted in any case. Why have you come?” 

“I come to plead for the wood.”

“What?” 

“It was you, was it not, who brought the storm that flooded the lands? I felt your presence as it swept us.”

Lily gulped, her heart constricting painfully. “Yes,” she choked.

He nodded, holding one hand aloft in supplication. “Your sorrow was fierce, I know, I tasted it in the water. Humanity dealt you a great hurt, and you dealt one back. Balance and revenge, a fay thing indeed that I understand well, but all is not right in the forest I guard,” he said, looking at her sideways. “It was not time for a flood, the storm was not of the earth's own contrivance, and now the waters will not drain. The plants and animals suffer. They harmed you not, Lily of the Night. Only allow me to drain the waters now that your vengeance on the mortals is wrought.”

“It was _not_ vengeance!” Lily said, hands fisting in her skirt as she kneeled to Gump's height. “Drain the waters, Gump, with my permission and my gratitude. I did not intend the storm to rage so, the flood was unexpected. I have been wracked with guilt.”

Gump nodded once, looking at her in speculation. “I feel the truth in your words, but there is a human woman who claims otherwise. The one you crossed the wood to visit recently. I have heard whispers that she claims you killed her child,” he told her.

“I _didn't_ ,” Lily insisted, horrified.

“It is what she says,” Gump shrugged. Lily just looked at him, gaping. “She does not mention Princess Lily when she tells her story, though,” he continued. “The whispers are not about the lost princess, but Lilith, the demon queen, a seductress most foul who strikes out at mothers and children out of jealously, for she has neither of her own.”

“Do you exaggerate?” Lily ventured, shocked at such a story and hoping that Gump was displaying his ilk's penchant for such things.

Gump shook his head slowly. “I do not. She is very angry.”

“That much is clear,” she sighed, feeling rather numb. Gump watched her silently for a time as she stared at the floor.

“I will need something from you to complete my task, Night Lily. A tear from the same hurt would do nicely, if you should have one for me.” At this he produced a tiny vial from a pouch on his belt, pulling the cork and tilting it at her hopefully.

Lily rubbed her eyes, frustrated. “A token I would gladly grant you if I had. And yet, the storm has left me without a tear to shed.”

“I thought it might be the case. Such a spectacular performance tends to take all,” he told her. “There is another way, a fine way. Blood would work a treat, and only a drop would be needed. The merest prick of a needle to make the land well again.” Gump watched her carefully, removing a bone sewing needle from the same pouch from which he had drawn the vial. “A small price, I should think.” Lily watched his throat bob as he swallowed, watched him still as he held his breath. Somehow, she realized, she was making this ancient spirit nervous, or perhaps the question was. Perhaps he feared she would refuse him.

Lily held her hand out silently and observed Gump release his breath, leaning in to prick the tip of her pinky gently with the sharpened bone. A small drop of blood welled to the surface of her skin which he carefully collected with the lip of his vial. The wound was shallow and bled only for a few seconds before tapering off, the small puncture barely visible once she had licked away the slight scarlet smear left behind.

“I thank you, Queen Lilith, Mistress of the Night,” he said formally, corking his vial and bowing deeply as he replaced it in his pouch.

“You know, Gump, if I am to speak truly, I would not have expected you to be quite this amicable with me.” Lily commented, unable to stifle her curiosity at his deference.

He smiled and shrugged one shoulder with an odd, swirling hand gesture. “I came in good faith seeking a boon from you which you readily gave, without asking a price. We of the elven kind live day by day, feuding and breaking bread from one to the next with ease. When last I met Lord Darkness the peril was great and battle was necessary, but as I tell you, balance is a thing I understand well. Revenge I say too, which is why I should not like to cross his path today after I helped to thwart him.”

“Then you are wise for that,” Lily said with laughter, yet they both knew that she spoke seriously.

“We of the elven kind also live in shadow occasionally, roaming back and forth between worlds. We know that none can exist without the others, and we guard that balance in our particular way. I think, Night Lily, that so will you. I have the sense that with you here by his side, we are safer who live in in the middle planes.” He stared at her, eyes boring into her in the same manner that they did on the first day they met. This time, however, Gump seemed satisfied with what he found there. “You have found your destiny, and I cannot begrudge you that.”

Lily nodded, knowing that he was right. “He desires that I desire him, that I stay willingly, and so he is very eager to keep me happy. He thinks fondly on what he almost accomplished but he knows that it would harden my heart towards him, so I think he dares not attempt it again.”

“Then I had the right of it, the new Queen of Darkness reigns in fellowship with us all, and we all shall benefit from her reign. Long live, your majesty.” Gump bowed again, standing back up with a flourish.

Lily smiled and thanked him softly, wondering if she should ask her next question. “Gump… how is… how is _he_? Does he know where I am?”

Gump cocked his head at her. “Do you not want to say his name?” He whispered, well aware of who she asked after.

Lily shook her own head. “Not here. I don't want to scry for him, either. I don't want to see him, I just want to know that he's alright.”

Gump was silent a moment, then nodded. “For the best, perhaps. I will answer your question if you answer mine.”

Lily sighed. “Yes, I don’t see why not.”

“He is well enough. Spends a bit of time in the villages of men now, is still pestered by Oona. He has asked if I know where you are, but I give him no answer. It would only hurt him.”

She nodded, grateful that Gump had not told him the truth of things. One piece confused her, though. “Oona?” Lily had never heard the name from Jack.

“A sprite who pines for him, she was part of our band that came for the unicorn.”

“Oh,” Lily said, not sure why she should feel a sudden flare of irritation that he had never mentioned her. 

“And now you answer for me. Did you know already, the day we met in the wood, that you would return here?” Gump watched her, brows raised in question.

“No. It was many months later.”

“Ah,” he said quietly, smiling. “I did.” He reached out a hand and did not quite tap her nose.

Lily blushed, unsure why she felt like a child being caught out in some way. “I thought you would ask why.”

“No, no,” he said quickly. “That I understand as well as the storm.” And they were silent again, staring at each other. “I should bid you farewell, Lily of the Night, before I am noticed. The forest awaits my healing touch and your lord, as said, should not see me.”

“Then go in friendship, Lord Gump, and heal what I have dealt. I wish you strength and good fortune.”

“Be well, Queen Lilith,” he said, and then he was bounding off towards the hollow with a speed that she would not have guessed at. His small body shifted, arms and legs seeming to distort slightly, bending so that he ran on four limbs and reminding her of nothing so much as an agile yearling deer.

Lily huffed, thinking of Nell. Perhaps she would not look in on her again. She did not know if her heart could take it.

* * *

“The magpie accepted my bid for her service,” Lily said. She watched as her companion ate, picking from his plate occasionally. When he had finally emerged from his meditation he was ravenous, first for her- their congress had been quick and furious, she suspected that he was not yet finished with her tonight- and then for food and drink, which he now consumed in shocking amounts. He held her on his knee, unwilling to allow her to part from his embrace. He nodded distractedly, reaching for more wine, his arm tightening around her in acknowledgement of her success.

He was very, _very_ pleased with her. Her storm had created such a source of power for him, a natural disaster to truly take pride in, a show of strength fit to bear his own name. Lily allowed his pride to envelope her, taking pleasure in it for that if not for the thing itself. If she was honest, which she desired to be and so tried very hard to admit it, she did feel _some_ pride in it. Though she had caused more suffering than intended, she had accomplished something truly grand, something that awed her to think on.

Lily watched him drain his chalice and then slam it down with a deep chuckle, making her jump as it rattled the silver on the table. She had lost count of how many times he had refilled his cup quite a while ago, she though he must be rather drunk by now. 

“Who could ever refuse you?” he said, leaning into her. The liquor on his breath was rich and spiced and she leaned in to taste it for a moment. “You could bring armies of men to their knees.” 

Lily laughed softly. “I’m only talking about a little bird,” she told him, brushing her nose against his.

“Little birds, magpies and chickadees and hens and _cocks_ ,” he leered at her, squeezing her in his arm and gripping her thigh with a slight hiccup. Lily giggled helplessly. He was _definitely_ drunk. 

“Still _little_ birds, then?” she asked, unable to stop her breathless laughter. She'd sipped from his cup a few times as well. 

He reared back a bit, sharp brow raised. “An albatross,” he countered. “Nay,” he raised a finger, his eyes suddenly distracted as his movement away from her brought the white of her chest into his view. “a gryphon.” His hand moved towards her, brushing aside one side of her gown’s bodice. It was a loose, flowing black chiffon, just sheer enough to tease him, split to her waist. His movement exposed one breast entirely and he stared, leaning back a bit further to view her more completely.

His hand raised again and he laid it softly over her skin, her nipple resting in the center of his palm. Lily savored his warmth, the jolt of pleasure as he kneaded gently and the little nub tightened. He pulled back and ran the pad of one finger over it, then the tip of his claw as he pulled away to stare again, watching the way her flesh swayed as her breath became short. He leaned in to kiss her hard, biting at her lips fiercely and making her whimper.

He pulled back once more to regard the image she presented, tousled and wanton, lips swollen and red, eyes dilated as they fixed on him. He sighed, reaching again for his wine, his gaze raking over her as he drank. “You should call your little bird,” he said at length, “let it eat from our table. Tonight we celebrate my queen's rising power and your first familiar should be welcome.”

Lily nodded, but it took her a moment to focus herself and accomplish the task. When she was done she looked up at him, glad that they were both a bit intoxicated for what she was going to tell him now. “You should know,” she said slowly, “Gump came to see me today, before you finished with your shadows.”

He frowned at her. “Who is Gump?”

She sighed. “Gump is the fairy who led the party that came for the unicorn.”

His eyes narrowed and he growled at her softly. “That little pipsqueak with the banshee stuck in his throat?”

Lily giggled again, which stole some of his ire as he watched her eyes dance. She remembered as his breath calmed a little that it was always difficult for him to hold onto his irritation if she was paying him some kind of attention, and so she reached up and stroked his face, cuddled close to him and traced his pointed, bovine ears as she continued to tell him of Gump's visit.

“He wanted to drain the flood waters. They won't drain on their own and the forest is suffering.”

“Yes, and it is _lovely_ ,” he insisted.

“But it is enough,” Lily told him, kissing his cheek when he frowned again. “And _please_ , my love, if he comes back, _do not_ kill him. He means us no harm now. He is a friend.” 

“Very _well_ ,” he sighed, turning his face to catch her lips for a moment. “The things that I do for you, woman.”

“I know,” Lily said, struggling to keep her tone even and her face serious, “It is a great sacrifice on your part, and I am grateful.” She _was_ grateful, though his pouting amused her.

He nodded, taking her sympathies quite sincerely. Suddenly he huffed a little, asking, “Will you _ever_ ask me to kill Blix?”

Lily was surprised and laughed for a moment. “You are very impatient to grant that request,” she noted.

“The night you first ask me to kill for you I will be so overcome with joy and lust that I will lock you in the bedchamber for a fortnight to follow.” He pressed her down on his lap, showing her precisely what the thought did to him.

“Perhaps one of these days, when I feel like you’ve done something _very_ nice for me…” she trailed off breathily.

He groaned, holding her tighter, his face coming close to hers. “Teasing wench,” he accused, which only made her giggle again as he extended his long tongue towards her collar bone. Lily squirmed a bit, purposefully, rubbing herself against him through their clothing. Distracted as she was, it took her a moment to notice the magpie on the arm of his chair, watching them. Lily jumped, a hand flying to her chest.

“Little one,” she breathed once she felt like her heart had started beating again. “It's rude to stare,” she added, which seemed to amuse her lord greatly. The bird just cocked her head at Lily, jumping back to the table to retrieve a beautiful red flower, bright and fragrant. She dropped it into Lily's hand and hopped back to the table, wandering off to peck at the spread.

It was a lily. A large, remarkably hued lily the like of which she had never seen. “It's gorgeous, little one, thank you,” she said to the magpie.

“Now wait a moment,” he sighed, taking the lily in hand, holding it close to his nose, his brow furrowed. “Did you give the elf your _blood_ , Lily?” he asked her, sounding weary.

“Yes,” she replied slowly, crossing her arms over her chest.

His eyes slipped closed as he released a slow breath, the hand with the flower coming up to rub at his brow. “You should not do such things,” he told her sternly.

“I'll do what I like with _my_ blood.”

He raised his hand in surrender, sighing heavily. “It is _reckless_. You are extremely fortunate that he did as he said he would.”

“I told you that he is a friend. Besides, I owed it to him and to the forest he is guardian of.”

“You owe nothing to anyone,” he was quick to tell her, but she shook her head at him.

“It doesn’t matter now, it’s done,” she said, raising her hand to gaze into her ring. If this flower were a product of her gift to Gump, did that mean that he had finished so quickly? Was all well in the forest, in the valley?

Lily gasped at what she found. The sky was clear and the stars shone bright, the waxing crescent of the moon a silver streak cutting sharply through them. The field her vision overlooked was crowded with the crimson lilies, thick with their lush petals. The waters had drained, yes, and over every landscape she looked on she found the flowers growing in a dense carpet, only dotted with greenery that looked black in the dark of the night.

“It is quite a striking image,” he admitted, gripping her wrist lightly and looking himself. “Like rivers of blood under that perfect night sky.” He looked at the flower he still held, then tore a petal off.

“Hold on, now,” she objected mildly, though she was curious to know why he did it. She watched him hold the petal between his fingers and squeeze it, rub it between the pads of each one and let the liquid it produced drip down his skin, the very same color. He scented the nectar with a dour expression, finally dipping his fingers into his mouth to taste it.

He shook his head, looking at her with an exasperated sigh. “Let us only pray to Mother Night that no one with the ability to use this against you feels inclined. People could use these to feed you power in worship, but they also make you vulnerable. I say it again, it is a very reckless thing you did.”

“Gump did seem nervous when he suggested it,” she confessed. 

“As well I can imagine, the little worm knew what he asked for,” he told her with a scowl. 

They sat in silence a time, both staring at the lily. “My mother would have loved them,” she said finally.

“One cannot deny their beauty.”

“They were her favorite flower. She only named me Lilith to shorten it.” Lily touched the remaining petals softly, admiring their vibrancy. “She liked the brightly colored ones best, too, thought the white ones were pretty, but a bit boring.” This made her laugh a little to think about. 

“Then she was wise, my Dark Lily,” he said, abruptly nose to nose with her, his eyes heavily lidded as they gazed into hers.

“And I will be wise to stay with you always, my Darkness,” she responded. He kissed her for it, immensely pleased. His hand gripped at her still exposed breast, the flower brushing her skin a cool contrast to his heat. He pulled back a bit, raising the bloom to his mouth and biting off several petals as she watched. 

A small drop of the juice bled down the corner of his lip and he licked it away with a moan. “Delectable,” he announced.

Lily kissed him again, noting something floral and faintly metallic on his tongue to accompany the wine, something pleasant. She held him there against her, breathing him in and getting lost in the hazy euphoria of his closeness. She never wanted to be any farther away from him than she was in that moment.

 _Forever_ , she thought blearily. 

_Forever_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last official chapter of Lilith Rising. *sniff* My baby! There will be an epilogue posted, hopefully quite soon.
> 
> Fun fact: Lilith's earliest known origin as a mythological figure is as an ancient Assyrian storm demon, Lilitu. She's also considered the first succubus. (I am very inspired by the mythology of Lilith, which may be obvious, but I'm also not very fond of biblical mythology so prefer to get eclectic with it.)
> 
> Comments are still precious fuel for my motivation and there's still a whole other story to write! <3


	8. An Omission, or: An Epilogue

Gump crept through the brush quietly, swiftly in the way of forest creatures. The lives under his care were made safe by his recent action, but one in particular he worried for now. There was a heart in the wood that ached for something dangerous, a soul that cried out for something that it could not have and _should not_ seek.

Amidst the trees was a dim glow which lent less light but more warmth than the stars. Gump clung to the bark of the tree which housed the light, climbing determinedly, ignoring the nearby ladder. The thick branches held a structure, modest and somewhat rough, looking nearly as though it had grown there along with the oak that supported it.

Only the crickets broke the quiet of the night as Gump wriggled through a paneless window, hopping down to the slightly warped floorboards with all the grace and stealth of a lynx. A candle burned low on a small bedside table, casting harsh shadows over the morose face of the man sitting on the bed beside it. He held a scarlet lily, cradling it gently in his palms, not looking up at Gump when the sprite came into his field of vision.

“What _are_ they, Gump?” he asked, his eyes still fixed on the vivid petals.

“Flowers,” he responded carefully. “Only flowers.”

Jack shook his head, eyes finally raising to make contact with Gump's only briefly before fixing on the lily again. “No flower that is just a flower would overtake the land like this in hours, and these are _new_. I’ve never seen them in the forest before.” Gump was silent as Jack raised the bloom to his nose, taking in its fragrance deeply. “I don’t understand. They _smell_ like her.”

“Mayhap your mind plays a trick on you,” Gump ventured, but Jack was already shaking his head again. “Sometimes when we cannot-"

“No, Gump. You mock me now.”

“I do not.”

“You _do_ , else you think me dim,” he insisted softly as he crushed a few petals in his hand, watching as they dripped crimson on the floor. Jack gestured with his stained fingers. “What flower bleeds?”

“You claim to know the plants better than the fay?”

“I claim to know the plants well enough to know that you are lying to me.”

“My kind don't lie, Jack. You know this.”

“No, you just twist up and evade the truth until the rest of us poor fools are dizzy,” he said bitterly. 

Gump was silent again. He could not deny it.

“You do know where she is, don't you, Gump?” Jack met his eye now, staring hard at him. Gump was still. “You act ignorant, but you know. Why do you refuse to tell me?” His eyes were pleading and a bit frightened, his handsome face tense.

Sighing deeply, Gump made a decision. “I did not wish to cause you to grieve, Jack. Your hurt was so great already.” This much was true.

“Tell me, Gump. _Please_ ,” Jack begged. Gump saw his eyes well, saw the desperation in them. He would have to tread carefully. 

It was not a very pleasant decision to let him believe this thing, but perhaps it was kinder than what was asked for, would hurt less than the truth. It would certainly be more likely to keep the boy safe. Gump felt a slight twinge of remorse at doing the exact thing Jack accused him of, but in the end it was for the best.

“The princess Lily is no more,” Gump said, finality in his tone. “Her mortal existence ended some years ago.” 

The tears in Jack's eyes spilled over, leaving trails down his cheeks as he gasped. Gump approached him, laying a slender hand on one of his shoulders as they hitched in quiet sobs. He clutched the flower to his chest, staining the grey tunic he wore, fabric spun by man rather than fairy.

“Go now, Gump,” Jack whispered, hurt at his friend's secrets. “Please just go.”

Silently he removed his hand, backing away towards the window. Jack would forgive him in time, once he had calmed, and maybe now he would finally move past his love for the girl, let go of this futile yearning. Maybe even allow Oona to bring him some comfort. Gump could only hope.

_The princess Lily is no more_ , Gump thought as he slithered down the trunk of the tree. _Long live Queen Lilith._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This marks the end of Lilith Rising. 
> 
> Please look out for the next installment of my little series, Shadow Dance, a Darkness POV oneshot that should be up soon.
> 
> It's been fun so far, I hope you join me for the rest of the ride. We've got a bit of distance to cover yet. ;)


End file.
